NEW DELHI: Fugitive economic offenders collectively owed more than Rs 58,082 crore to Indian public sector banks, the Union finance ministry has informed Lok Sabha on Monday. The figure included Rs 26,645 crore in principal and Rs 31,437 crore in accumulated interest as of October 31, 2025. The ministry informed that a total of 15 individuals, including Vijay Mallya and Nirav Modi, have been declared Fugitive Economic Offenders (FEOs) under the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, 2018, of which nine are linked to major financial frauds involving public sector banks.
The government Vijay Mallya’s Kingfisher Airlines-related accounts show one of the largest exposures, with the State Bank of India reporting Rs 6,848.28 crore in principal dues, which rise to Rs 11,960.05 crore after interest. Multiple other PSU banks also report unpaid amounts linked to him. Nirav Modi, through various entities including Firestar and diamond group companies, owes more than Rs 7,800 crore in principal alone. The single largest line item is Rs 6,799.18 crore under Punjab National Bank’s “non-borrowal fraud” category. His accounts also feature across SBI, Bank of India, Canara Bank, Indian Bank and others. Companies linked to the Sandesara family (Sterling Biotech, Sterling SEZ, Sterling Global Oil Resources and related entities) appeared in several loan accounts across multiple banks. Some of the biggest exposures include Rs 1,392.78 crore owed to Bank of India and Rs 982.50 crore owed to the State Bank of India. Till date, banks have managed to recover Rs 19,187 crore from all fugitive offenders so far, according to the finance ministry. This means that out of the Rs 58,082 crore owed, about Rs 38,895 crore remains unpaid, outstanding principal and interest that banks have not been able to recover yet.The government also told the House that only two fugitive offenders have negotiated One-Time Settlements (OTS): Nitin and Chetan Sandesara with Indian Bank, and Sterling Global Oil Resources Pvt Ltd with the State Bank of India. In response to whether a policy is being drafted to prevent economic offenders from leaving the country, the government said that no such proposal is currently under consideration.Read the reply here:
