Centre Names 15 Fugitive Offenders Behind ₹57,000 Crore Bank Fraud

New Delhi, Dec 2025 : Kingfisher Airlines founder Vijay Mallya, diamantaire Nirav Modi and Sterling Biotech promoter Nitin Sandesara are among 15 individuals declared Fugitive Economic Offenders (FEOs) as on October 31, collectively responsible for defrauding Indian banks of more than ₹57,000 crore, the government informed Parliament on Monday.

Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary, in a written reply in the Lok Sabha, said these 15 individuals were declared FEOs under the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, 2018, after being accused of wilful default, fraud and fleeing the country to evade prosecution.

According to the minister, the principal amount lost by banks due to these offenders stands at ₹26,645 crore as of October 31, 2025. In addition, interest accrued from the date the accounts turned non-performing assets (NPAs) adds another ₹31,437 crore to the losses, taking the total financial impact to over ₹57,000 crore.

Chaudhary further revealed that the government and enforcement agencies have recovered ₹19,187 crore from these offenders so far through attachment and sale of assets.

Apart from Mallya, Nirav Modi and Sandesara, other major FEOs include Sudharshan Venkataraman and Ramanujam Sesharathinam of Zylog Systems, Chetan Sandesara of Sterling Biotech, and businessman Pushpesh Kumar Baid.

The list of banks defrauded by these fugitives spans nearly all major public sector lenders, including State Bank of India (SBI), Punjab National Bank (PNB), Bank of Baroda (BoB), Punjab and Sind Bank, UCO Bank, Union Bank of India, Bank of India, Bank of Maharashtra, Canara Bank, Central Bank of India, Indian Bank and Indian Overseas Bank.

Breakdown of Major Cases

SBI suffered one of the largest hits, with Vijay Mallya’s Kingfisher Airlines defaulting on a principal amount of ₹6,848 crore. Interest accumulated till October 31 amounts to ₹11,960 crore. However, SBI has recovered ₹10,814 crore through asset liquidation and other processes.

In Punjab National Bank’s books, the Nirav Modi “non-borrowal fraud” alone accounts for a loss of ₹6,799 crore. Against this, the bank has been able to recover just ₹93.21 crore so far.

Separately, Firestar International, linked to Nirav Modi, caused an additional loss of more than ₹297 crore in principal and ₹324 crore in interest. PNB has recovered over ₹163 crore from the case.

Mallya’s liabilities extend beyond SBI. PNB also suffered a loss of ₹899.56 crore in principal and ₹324.52 crore in interest because of him. The bank has recovered ₹946.17 crore till October 31, 2025.

Bank of Baroda also faced significant defaults from both Mallya and Nirav Modi. Mallya caused losses of ₹494.33 crore (principal) and ₹1,341.87 crore (interest), against which the bank has recovered ₹995.55 crore.

Meanwhile, Nirav Modi-led Firestar Group caused BoB losses of ₹301.98 crore in principal and ₹206.40 crore in interest. The bank has so far recovered ₹99.24 crore.

The minister reaffirmed that efforts to recover additional assets of FEOs are ongoing through coordination between enforcement agencies, courts and financial institutions.

Team Maverick.