In today’s Finshots, we dive into what’s being touted as India’s biggest ever bank fraud
Spoiler alert: It involves the underworld and helicopters!
The Story
In February, there were news reports about a massive bank scam. In fact, the biggest bank scam ever. ABG Shipyard was the alleged perpetrator and reports indicated that the company had cheated nearly 28 banks to the tune of ₹23,000 crores
But ABG Shipyard could only hold the crown for a few short months. They’ve been dethroned by yet another company that seemed to have cheated banks out of nearly ₹35,000 crores.
Who might that be, you ask?
Well, it’s the Wadhawan brothers of DHFL fame!
Remember DHFL?
It was a non-banking financial company (NBFC) that doled out housing loans to lower and middle-income group individuals. They were seemingly doing quite well, until a couple of years ago, when the company collapsed rather spectacularly due to financial mismanagement. The Piramal Group finally acquired DHFL, but the promoters haven’t been offered any respite. The CBI and the Enforcement Directorate are still on their tail and for the Wadhawan brothers, it’s looking a bit grim.
DHFL’s antics
Okay, so it all began during the first half of the last decade. The home loan business was taking off and DHFL found itself in the thick of things. They began doling out home loans in bulk. But if you’re an NBFC, you can’t keep up this kind of growth, unless you borrow large sums of money…
