Chinese-owned NBFC's Rs 288 cr funds seized
New Delhi, February 9
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) today said a competent authority under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) has seized Rs 288 crore funds of a “Chinese-owned” non-banking financial company (NBFC).
The firm gave instant loans through mobile apps, and later allegedly harassed borrowers by “misusing” their personal data. The ED said an order had been issued by the Commissioner of Customs, Chennai, on February 4 confirming “the full seizure of the funds in the action taken against Chinese-owned PC Financial Services (PCFC)”. The ED had initiated a probe against the company while it was investigating a number of NBFCs and fintech companies under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act for providing online instant micro-loans using mobile apps. Later, such NBFCs “extorted high rate of interest by misusing the personal data of the customers and threatening and abusing them through call centres”. In some cases, people reportedly ended their lives.
The NBFC in this case was providing instant personal micro-loans through its mobile application called ‘Cashbean’ for suspicious foreign outward remittances, the ED said. “The PCFC is ultimately beneficially owned by Chinese national Zhou Yahui. The investigation found that the foreign parent companies of PCFS brought in foreign direct investment worth Rs 173 crore for lending business and made foreign outward remittances worth Rs 429.29 crore to foreign-related companies, for non-existent software services,” the ED alleged. —
