Fri Dec 05 02:30:00 UTC 2025: Here’s a summary of the article and a rewritten version as a news article:
Summary:
An article from The Hindu’s e-Paper on December 5, 2025, reports that nine fugitive economic offenders (FEOs) owe Indian banks over ₹58,000 crore. Despite arrest warrants, these individuals remain abroad to avoid prosecution. Recoveries amount to just over ₹19,000 crore, or about 33% of the total owed. Vijay Mallya tops the list of offenders, followed by the Sandesara family and Nirav Modi. The State Bank of India (SBI) has seen the most success in recovering funds, primarily from Mallya’s account, while other banks lag. Charts included in the original article detail the loan exposures of various banks and the recovery amounts from the accounts of Mallya, the Sandesara family, and Modi.
News Article:
Indian Banks Struggle to Recover Billions Owed by Fugitive Economic Offenders
New Delhi, December 5, 2025 – Nine fugitive economic offenders (FEOs) currently residing outside India are collectively indebted to Indian banks for over ₹58,000 crore, according to data released by the Ministry of Finance to Parliament. These individuals, who have outstanding arrest warrants, have fled the country to evade criminal prosecution related to large-scale financial fraud.
The total amount owed consists of ₹26,645 crore in principal and ₹31,437 crore in accrued interest. To date, banks have only managed to recover approximately ₹19,000 crore, representing a mere 33% of the total outstanding dues.
Among the FEOs, Vijay Mallya leads the list with nearly ₹27,000 crore owed, followed by the Sandesara family (Sterling Group) and Nirav Modi. While the State Bank of India (SBI) has demonstrated the highest recovery rate, largely due to asset liquidation in the Mallya case, the recovery rates for other banks remain significantly lower. SBI has recovered approximately 56% of the loan it is owed from Mallya whereas the other banks have only managed to recover 17% in the Sandesara family and 7% in the case of Nirav Modi.
The published information detailed the loan exposure and recovery amounts for each of the major offenders. While SBI had the highest exposure for Mallya’s debts, Punjab National Bank bore the largest burden from Nirav Modi’s defaults. The Sandesara family’s exposure was spread across multiple banking institutions.
The slow recovery rate raises concerns about the effectiveness of current measures to retrieve assets from FEOs and highlights the challenges faced by Indian banks in tackling financial crimes that extend beyond national borders.
First Piper 