As many as 2,593 officials of Public Sector Banks (PSBs) were facing trial on various charges as on January 31, the Ministry of Finance told Parliament.
Replying to a question in the Rajya Sabha, the Ministry said in January itself, 11 cases had been registered and six officials were punished/convicted.
Last year, 136 cases were registered and 143 officials were found guilty. As per the government data, 2,633 officials were under trial as on January 31, 2019.
The Central Bureau of Investigation had sought sanction for prosecution in respect of 801 PSB officials and staff, which included Presidential appointees, in 2017, 2018 and 2019 and up to January 2020.
The agency reported that requests for sanction in respect of 139 accused officials during this period had been declined. “In cases where sanction is declined, the advice is tendered in consultation with the Central Vigilance Commission,” said the Ministry.
The Ministry said several measures had been taken to combat corruption in the PSBs. “Board-approved loan policies of PSBs now mandate tying up necessary clearances/approvals and linkages before disbursement, scrutiny of group balance-sheet and ring-fencing of cash flows, non-fund and tail risk appraisal in project financing,” it said.
“Use of third-party data sources for comprehensive due diligence across data sources has been instituted, thus mitigating risk on account of misrepresentation or fraud. Monitoring role has been strictly segregated from sanctioning role in high value loans, and specialised monitoring agencies combining financial and domain knowledge have been deployed for effective monitoring of loans above ₹250 crore,” said the Ministry, listing other steps.
