Unpublished Data Shows India’s Fraud Problems Extend Far Beyond PNB

Unpublished Data Shows India’s Fraud Problems Extend Far Beyond PNB
An Indian navy officer walks past the entrance of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) head office in Mumbai on February 7, 2018. Punit Paranjpe/AFP/Getty Images
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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.