NEW DELHI/MUMBAI—Investors may have been shocked when one of India’s biggest banks disclosed a $1.77 billion fraud by a billionaire jeweler, but the central bank has recorded data that shows the problem runs far deeper and wider.
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data, which a Reuters reporter obtained through a right-to-information request, shows state-run banks have reported 8,670 “loan fraud” cases totaling 612.6 billion rupees ($9.58 billion) over the last five financial years up to March 31, 2017.