Bollywood actor Preity Zinta on Tuesday called out the Congress party for circulating reports of New India Cooperative Bank writing off her loan worth ₹18 crore. She called these reports false and said in a statement that she has already settled the overdraft (OD) facility a decade ago.
"More than 12 years ago, I had an overdraft facility with the New India Cooperative Bank. More than 10 years ago, I repaid in full the entire dues in respect of this overdraft facility, and the account stands closed."
The Bollywood actor's name recently made the rounds when alleged corruption in the New India Cooperative Bank came to the fore. After corruption charges, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) imposed severe restrictions on the bank and ordered an inquiry.
The Congress party's Kerala unit recently linked Zinta with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in a post on X, hinting at bribery. "She gave her social media accounts to BJP and got 18 cr written off and the bank collapsed last week. Depositors are on the streets for their money," Congress Kerala's post read.
Countering this post, the actor said that she operates her social media accounts herself and slammed the party for promoting fake news.
She further wrote: "No one wrote off anything or any loan for me. I’m shocked that a political party or their representative is promoting fake news & indulging in vile gossip & click baits using my name & images. For the record a loan was taken and FULLY PAID BACK - over 10 years ago. Hope this clarifies and helps so there are no misunderstandings in the future (sic)."
A report by Moneylife suggested that corporate loans of up to ₹25 crore were sanctioned without the knowledge of branch managers, many of which turned non-performing assets (NPAs) within a year allegedly due to fund diversions.
It further cited a ₹18 crore loan to Preity Zinta, which was allegedly "written off" without following proper recovery procedures.
It also mentioned that around 80 staff members were forced to resign in 2019, prompting the employees to request the central bank o conduct a forensic audit, dissolve the board of directors, and recover losses from the personal assets of those responsible.