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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Aadhaar can't plug bank fraud: Govt

Aadhaar can't plug bank fraud: Govt

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published Published on Apr 7, 2018   modified Modified on Apr 7, 2018
-The Telegraph

New Delhi: The Centre on Thursday conceded in the Supreme Court that Aadhaar cannot be a panacea for detecting bank frauds like the one allegedly committed by diamantaire Nirav Modi, saying the scam would not have occurred if due "diligence" had been exercised by banks.

The admission comes against the backdrop of the Centre's aggressive push for Aadhaar for the receipt of various government benefits and as an antidote to various ills such as money-laundering.

"If there had been due diligence at the bank level, incidents like (the fraud allegedly committed by) Nirav Modi would not have happened. If Aadhaar is linked to the bank accounts, whenever there is a transaction it will be revealed. To this extent Aadhaar is useful," attorney-general K.K. Venugopal told a five-judge constitution bench during Thursday's hearing.

The bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices A.K. Sikri, A.M. Khanwilkar, D.Y. Chandrachud and Ashok Bhushan is hearing a batch of petitions challenging the constitutional validity of the Aadhaar scheme.

The attorney-general made the admission after Justice Chandrachud observed: "There is nothing in Aadhaar which prevents individuals from carrying out a chain of commercial activities for a series of transactions.

"We don't see how Aadhaar can prevent or detect bank frauds in such cases. We can understand when you talk about frauds in welfare schemes but in case of bank frauds, we don't see what Aadhaar can do. Aadhaar is not a catch for all frauds."

Venugopal pleaded that Aadhaar had resulted "in identification and detection of fraud to the tune of thousands of crores of rupees by banks and shell companies through benami transactions".

But Justice Chandrachud said: "Aadhaar cannot stop such frauds. Same person starting different companies is not per se illegal. The problem arises when the credit is extended by the bank for each transaction by multiple entities."

Justice Sikri endorsed Justice Chandrachud's views: "Here banks know the identity of fraudsters. It is not that identities are not known when loans, etc, are granted. But frauds take place because bank officials are hand-in-glove with the fraudster. Aadhaar can do little to stop it.

"When loans are given by the bank you know the person. The loan doesn't become NPA (non-performing asset) if due diligence is followed in granting the loan. NPAs occur because banks have not taken due diligence, which ought to have been carried out by the banks."

The attorney-general said he agreed with the court's views.

Justice Sikri sought to know why the Centre wanted every citizen to link their mobile phones with Aadhaar, wondering whether they were all terrorists or some other offenders.

"Why do you want Aadhaar for each and every activity? You have issued 144 notifications. Why do you want cellphones to be linked to Aadhaar? Do you consider every individual in the population as a terrorist or a violator?" Justice Sikri asked.

Please click here to read more.

The Telegraph, 6 April, 2018, https://www.telegraphindia.com/india/aadhaar-can-t-plug-bank-fraud-govt-221374?ref=india-new-stry


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