NEW
DELHI: Burgeoning cases of non-performing assets (NPAs) and piling loan frauds
have led banks to private detectives for conducting 'undercover' operations to
unearth hidden data against defaulters who have cheated them of crores of
rupees before vanishing into thin air.
With these cases having gained prominence recently in the wake of some huge
defaults like those by Kingfisher AirlinesBSE 3.03 % and its owner Vijay
Mallya, banks have brought out advertisements and approached private detective
agencies to mine information against fraudsters.
As per official records, a number of banks have sought empanelment of detective
agencies with their assets recovery divisions to not only "locate the
missing/absconding NPA defaulter" but also to "ascertain their
present occupation, income streams among others".
"We have been helping the
banks on these issues for quite a few years now but this time there is pressure
on them to catch not only the small but also the big fish. Private detective
agencies are working on thousands of such case across the country.
A large public sector bank
recently sought help to tackle the NPA menace and wants private sleuths to
"unearth uncharged properties of the defaulter for recovery action with
the help of documentary evidences".
We have been helping the banks on
these issues for quite a few years now but this time there is pressure on them
to catch not only the small but also the big fish. Private detective agencies
are working on thousands of such case across the country.
"In order to ensure that the
banks get vital information on defaulters and absconders, our agents are
conducting undercover operations as we cannot go and just knock on the doors to
obtain such information in these cases," Chairman of the Association of
Private Detectives of India (APDI) Kunwar Vikram Singh told PTI.
He said despite the job requiring
special skills to conduct covert operations, the APDI's collective success rate
in tracing bank defaulters has been as much as 90. He said absconders and
fraudsters many a time exist "right under the nose" but under a
changed identity.
Singh said his detective firm Lancers Private Limited is at present working
with banks like SBI, Bank of India and Bank of Patiala on such cases many of
which have come to it in the recent past.
"The banks are up against
some of the smartest brains when it comes to non-payment of loans and huge
defaults. There is not much staff with any of us to physically get information
against such entities and hence private detectives hold the key to this
problem.
"It is ensured that when we
bring on board a detective agency we enter into a confidentiality agreement
with them called the NDA (Non-Disclosure Agreement) which mandates that such
snoop information about the defaulter will be protected from any public disclosure,"
he said.
As per a fee chart prepared by a
leading bank, it will pay Rs 7,500 (in a single case) to the snoop agency for
providing data about people connected to the defaulter like the borrower,
guarantor or director of the firm.
In case the detectives get documentary proof of assets (not in records of the
banks) of the defaulter which can be attached, an amount of Rs 20,000 for each
such property located will be paid.
"We have collected property
papers worth hundreds of crore against such defaulters in the past. This is a
very specialised job and we have deployed some of our best agents for the
task," Director of a Delhi-based snoop firm Hatfield Detectives Pvt Ltd
Ajit Singh said.
Banks
have also sought from these agencies, as per the scope of work agreement, some
non-traditional sources of information against the defaulters which the bank
"cannot access by utilising normal channels like CIBIL database, internet
and local enquiries."
An agreement brought out by one of the banks states that private sleuths need
to "locate the borrower, co-borrower, guarantor, mortgagor, including
their legal heirs who are either untraceable or not available at the addresses
given in bank's records."
Detectives also need to
"ascertain latest information about their present address, occupation,
businesses, income streams, details of all their assets, their location,
whether in India or abroad, and value and ownership related information."
"Government investigative
agencies like police, CBI, Income Tax department or the Enforcement Directorate
have their limitations. Banks also have manpower issues in their special debt
recovery units. Getting private detectives on board will surely get us the
desired results as past experiences have not been bad in this domain," the
banker said.
