BENGALURU: In fairly recent months, the entire country has been keenly following the developments of Vijaya Mallaya’s tax fraud case. The one time liquor baron, notoriously famous for his extravagant lifestyle, fled the country and has now taken up asylum in England. But Vijaya Mallya is just one such defaulter among the lot wanted by various banks and lending institutions.

With the increase in the number of Non-Performing Assets (NPAs) and load frauds, banks have turned to private detective agencies for aid. The roles the detective agencies play are varied.

Working with the banks’ asset recovery divisions, these private sleuths help uncover details which include location of the missing or absconding defaulter, their current occupation and sources of income to name a few.

The banks could reach out to government agencies like the police department, CBI, Income tax department or the Enforcement Directorate for help. But they are bound by certain rules and limitations, which private detectives are not subject to, making them a more efficient source of recovery.

When the banks bring private sleuths on board, both parties sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA), by which the information gathered by the agency about the defaulter will in no way be disclosed publicly. Everything is kept under covers until the bank decides to take action. In return the detectives gain the full confidence of the bank, allowing them to pursue the target in any method they fit, unquestioned. The bank, under no circumstance will be able to reveal the methods of the agency.

"In order to ensure that the banks get vital information on defaulters and absconders, our agents are conducting undercover operations as we cannot go and just knock on the doors to obtain such information in these cases," says Kunwar Vikram Singh, Chairman of the Association of Private Detectives of India (APDI).

The details require by the banks usually include the details of the borrower, the co-borrower, guarantor, mortgagor, including their legal heirs who are either untraceable or not available at the addresses given in bank's records.

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