The government on Monday placed major details before Parliament on the massive sums owed to Indian banks by fugitive economic offenders, revealing a total outstanding amount of Rs 58,000 crore. This includes both principal and accumulated interest, according to the data submitted.
The Centre said banks had recovered Rs 19,187 crore so far, through a mix of asset seizures and liquidation proceedings.
A total of 53 instances of fugitive economic offences have been flagged, featuring some of the most high-profile names accused of defrauding India’s banking system — Vijay Mallya, Nirav Modi, and the Sandesara family among them.
According to the details shared, Vijay Mallya owes Rs 22,065 crore to various banks, out of which the banks have recovered
over Rs 14,000 crore through asset seizures and liquidations. Nirav Modi owes Rs 9,656 crore and several others cumulatively push the total outstanding past Rs 58,000 crore. Banks have recovered Rs 545 crore from him so far, as per the government reply to Parliament. The government informed Parliament that the list covers 15 major fugitive offenders, with two of them having negotiated settlements with lenders. Officials said efforts continue under the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act (FEOA) and Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) to secure assets, pursue extraditions, and maximise recoveries. The data underscores the scale of India’s ongoing battle against economic fugitives who fled the country after defaulting on large loans. Nitin Sandesara and Chetan Sandesara of Sterling Global Resources Pvt Ltd and Sterling SEZ and Infrastructure Ltd have settled their outstanding loans with both the Indian Overseas Bank and Punjab National Bank. The settlements have been worth Rs 496 crore in total, the government has said.
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