Top Wilful Defaulters: Here is the List of 2,426 Who Together Owe Rs1.47 Lakh Crore to Public Sector Banks
Moneylife Digital Team 18 July 2020
Demanding to stop present practice of giving concessions to the defaulters and burdening the banking public with lesser rate of interest on their savings and increasing in service charges, a leading bank union has shared list of top 2,426 wilful defaulters, who together owe over Rs1.47 lakh crore to banks. 
 
In a release, CH Venkatachalam, general secretary of All India Bank Employees Association (AIBEA) says, "Atmanirbhar or self-dependency cannot be achieved by weakening our public sector banks (PSBs) or by privatising our banks. We have very bitter experience of private banks in our country. The only major problem faced by our banks is the bulging and alarmingly increasing bad loans by the private companies and corporates. If tough action is taken on them and money is recovered, our banks can play a bigger role in national development."
 
As part of its nationwide campaign to celebrate bank nationalisation day, AIBEA had released list of wilful defaulters of PSBs. Mehul Choksi-owned Gitanjali Gems Ltd with its default of Rs4,644 crore to Punjab National Bank (PNB) tops the list. It is followed by ABG Shipyard Ltd (Rs1,875 crore, State Bank of India-SBI), REI Agro Ltd (Rs1,745 crore, UCO Bank), Ruchi Soya Industries Ltd (Rs1,618 crore, SBI), Gili India Ltd (Rs1,447 core, PNB), Winsome Diamonds & Jewellery Ltd (Rs1,390 crore, Central Bank of India-CBI), Kudos Chemie Ltd (Rs1,301 crore, PNB), Nakshatra Brands Ltd (Rs1,109 crore, PNB), Coastal Projects Ltd (Rs984 crore, SBI) and Winsome Diamonds & Jewellery Ltd (Rs892 crore, PNB). These top 10 defaulters together owe Rs17,005 crore to state-run lenders.
 
 
As per the list shared by AIBEA, state-run PNB seems to lend more money to defaulters from the diamond and jewellery business. PNB gave loan of Rs4,644 crore to Gitanjali Gems Ltd, Rs1,447 crore to Gili India, Rs892 crore to Winsome Diamonds & Jewellery, Rs1,109 crore to Nakshata Brands Ltd and Rs736 crore to Forever Precious Jewellery & Diamonds Pvt Ltd. 
 
Not only this, majority of the top 10 defaulters from the AIBEA list are customers of PNB.
 
According to the list shared by AIBEA, among the 17 public sector lenders, SBI has highest number of wilful defaulters at 685 who together had defaulted on a loan of Rs43,887 crore. It is followed by PNB, which has 325 wilful defaulters with an outstanding of Rs22,370 crore. The data shared by the bank employee union, however has no information about wilful defaulters in Union Bank of India and IDBI Bank Ltd.
 
 
Here are the lists of wilful defaulters of PSBs as on 30 9 2019 that is shared by AIBEA...
 
1. List of Wilful Defaulters: Top 33 Accounts – Rs500 crore and above (Total Due Rs32,737 crore)
 
 
2. List of Wilful Defaulters – Rs200 Crore & Above (147 Accounts) Rs67,609 Crore
 
 
3. List of Wilful Defaulters – Rs5 Crore & Above (Bank wise list)
 
 
 
Comments
groupstonath
3 years ago
Everyone knows that the Chairperson of the Banks under question at the time of granting the loan is involved in such murky deals and their names must also be revealed. It is a well known secret that they either under political pressure or for other reasons lend sums knowing fully well that it will never be returned. Action on them even if retired must be taken.
Meenal Mamdani
3 years ago
I wonder if Punjab National Bank directors were in cahoots with the borrowers and therefore made so many bad loans.

Do we know who are the defaulters of private banks like ICICI, Axis, HDFC? Do the same names figure on their loan portfolios? Did the defaulters by any chance paid the loans off to private banks in order to be eligible to get new loans? Could the money for payment have come from the PSBs?

Borrow from the compliant bank to pay off the stricter bank?
vikasuti
Replied to Meenal Mamdani comment 3 years ago
Please let me know Co.s like Helios & Matheson of Chennai who looted hard earned money of Public by FDs also fell in the category of Wilful Defaulters?
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