Hyderabad: In a major development in the loan app case, the ED officials (Directorate of Enforcement) were able to confiscate Rs 105 crores from the bank accounts of 12 Non-Banking Finance Corporations (NBFCs). The ED officials listed 233 bank accounts related to fintech companies, namely Inditrade Fincorp, Aglo Fintrade, and 10 other associated companies, and seized their accounts. The investigation was carried out in response to three FIRs (First Information Report) filed at the Hyderabad Cyber Crime Police Station.
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The investigation by ED officials revealed that investments were made in NBFCs through fintech companies from China. Apparently, some fintech organizations had tied up with insolvent NBFCs for providing instant personal loans. Their modus operandi was a deceitful claim to provide technical assistance and customer outreach services to the NBFCs, but in reality, they misused the NBFCs' lending license.
The app was created for an instant loan assistance and the borrower only needed to provide his/her Aadhar number and phone number. Later, debtors were harassed by charging high-interest rates. Some people even died by suicide because of the constant pressure of the loan app administrator. According to a press release, the total attachment in this case now is Rs 264.3 crores.