Daijiworld Media Network - New Delhi
New Delhi, Dec 1: Vijay Mallya of Kingfisher Airlines, Nirav Modi of Firestar International, and Nitin Sandesara of Sterling Biotech and Sterling SEZ are among 15 individuals declared Fugitive Economic Offenders (FEOs) as of October 31, 2025, responsible for a combined loss of over Rs 57,000 crore to various banks, the Lok Sabha was informed on Monday.
Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary stated that the 15 FEOs, declared under the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, 2018, caused a principal loss of Rs 26,645 crore. The accumulated interest from the date of non-performing assets (NPAs) till October 31 added another Rs 31,437 crore to the banks’ losses.
Chaudhary noted that a total of Rs 19,187 crore has been recovered from these individuals so far. Other notable FEOs include Sudharshan Venkataraman and Ramanujam Sesharathinam of Zylog Systems, Nitin and Chetan Sandesara of Sterling Biotech, and Pushpesh Kumar Baid.
Major Bank Losses:
• State Bank of India (SBI): Vijay Mallya caused a principal loss of Rs 6,848 crore and interest loss of Rs 11,960 crore. Rs 10,814 crore has been recovered from him.
• Punjab National Bank (PNB): Nirav Modi’s non-borrowal fraud totaled Rs 6,799 crore, with only Rs 93.21 crore recovered. Firestar International caused a further principal loss of Rs 297 crore and interest loss of Rs 324 crore, with Rs 163 crore recovered. Mallya also caused a principal loss of Rs 899.56 crore and interest loss of Rs 324.52 crore; the bank recovered Rs 946.17 crore from him.
• Bank of Baroda (BoB): Mallya caused Rs 494.33 crore in principal losses and Rs 1,341.87 crore in interest, with Rs 995.55 crore recovered. Nirav Modi caused Rs 301.98 crore in principal losses and Rs 206.40 crore in interest, with Rs 99.24 crore recovered.
The defrauded banks include SBI, PNB, Bank of Baroda, Punjab & Sind Bank, UCO Bank, Union Bank of India, Bank of India, Bank of Maharashtra, Canara Bank, Central Bank of India, Indian Bank, and Indian Overseas Bank.
The Ministry emphasized continued efforts to recover dues from the FEOs while reinforcing the implementation of the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act to deter financial crimes.