New Delhi: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday said that banks have recovered Rs 13,109.17 crore from asset sale of fugitives like Vijay Mallya, Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi.
She said this while replying to a discussion on the second batch of Supplementary Demands for Grants which was approved by the Lok Sabha amid uproar by the Opposition over various issues.
The Supplementary Demands for Grants authorised the government to spend an additional Rs 3.73 lakh crore during the current fiscal.
The extra spending includes an infusion of over Rs 62,000 crore into the company that holds residual assets and liabilities of Air India, Rs 58,430 crore by way of additional fertiliser subsidy, Rs 53,123 crore towards payment of pending export incentives and Rs 22,039 crore to rural development ministry for transfer to the National Rural Employment Guarantee Fund.
Speaking on the banks’ recovery from wilful defaulters, she said that a total of Rs 13,109.17 crore has been recovered from the asset sales of Vijay Mallya, Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi as of July 2021 as per the information provided by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).
The latest recovery was Rs 792 crore from the sale of assets belonging to Mallya and others on July 16, 2021, she added.
Responding to various issues, including price rise, raised by the Opposition during the debate, she said the government is taking measures to cool down prices of edible oil and other essential commodities.
“We are taking measures through the EGOM (Empowered Group of Ministers) for taking care of essential goods. We will attend to the problem of edible oil price and also some of the essential edible items,” she said.
“Public sector banks together have effected a recovery of about Rs 5.49 lakh crore over the last seven financial years. So, these people who are defaulters, who have fled the country, we have got their money back and put it to the public sector banks and therefore the banks are safer today,” she said.
—PTI

Press Trust of India