frauds

During April-December 2021-22, the number of frauds at Kotak reached 642, Minister of State for Finance Bhagwat Karad said citing data from RBI

Kotak Mahindra Bank has been hit by the highest number of frauds at 642, involving Rs 1 lakh and above, in first nine months of 2021-22, Parliament was informed on Monday. It was followed by ICICI Bank and IndusInd Bank at 518 and 377, respectively.

Directions issued by the Reserve Bank of India to banks, and the government instituted wide-ranging structural and procedural reforms have helped check frauds in banks over the last five years and the amount involved has come down sharply, Minister of State for Finance Bhagwat Karad said in a written reply to the Lok Sabha.

Presenting data of number of frauds in banks, involving amount of Rs 1 lakh and above in last five financial years and the current one, he said the number of frauds at Kotak has been on a rise from 135 in FY17 to 289 in FY18; 383 in FY19; 652 in FY20 and 826 in FY21.

During April-December 2021-22, the number of frauds at Kotak reached 642, Karad said citing data from RBI.

At ICICI Bank, the number of frauds of Rs 1 lakh and above stood at 518 during the nine-month period, followed by 377 at IndusInd Bank; 235 at Axis Bank; 159 at State Bank of India and 151 at HDFC Bank.

In the case of the country’s largest lender SBI, the number of frauds declined in last three years. There were as many as 751 incidents in FY17; 923 in FY18; 931 in FY19; 673 in FY20; 283 in FY21, the minister said.

Karad said comprehensive steps have been taken to check bank frauds. Apart from this, measures have also been taken to deter fraudsters from committing crime.

(PTI)