The State Government has asked the Reserve Bank of India to establish a market surveillance mechanism to identify illegal loan apps which are functioning in violation of RBI guidelines so that action can be initiated against them.
“Many loan apps exist in Google Play Store against RBI guidelines. They are not disclosing the names of associated non-banking finance companies (NBFCs),” the Government said in a representation submitted to the RBI. The complaint follows increasing crimes related to loan apps in the State and the State said from 61 cases reported in the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal in 2021, the number increased to 900 this year with 107 FIRs filed and eight persons committing suicide.
A detailed analysis by the Finance department on the frauds reported identified 213 loan apps and 80 NBFCs associated with them. Among these NBFCs, 33 were identified as registered with the RBI and the rest were not. “Also many apps have not displayed any NBFC details and could not be established through our analysis based on available data,” Finance Special Chief Secretary K. Ramakrishna Rao said in the memorandum submitted to RBI.
