Telangana: Google removes 290 loan apps

Upon a request from Telangana police, Google has removed as many as 290 loan shark apps from its Play Store that are playing havoc with the lives of innocent borrowers.

These rogue apps, hosted on US-based Amazon Cloud and China-based Ali Cloud, are linked with Chinese companies and are operating in association with certain non-banking firms in India,.DGP M Mahender Reddy informed the high court on Thursday.

The bench of Chief Justice Hima Kohli and Justice B Vijaysen Reddy, while hearing a PIL filed by Kalyan Dileep Sunkara of Hyderabad, sought to know from the DGP by July 15 the action initiated against the key accused in the scam and those who assisted them from India through a fresh affidavit.

Two non-banking financial companies (NBFC) located in Bangalore, Mad network technologies and Fin express financial services, were found to be assisting the Chinese rogue loan companies.

The DGP, in his report, said that there are 14,906 NBFCs registered with RBI and the names of these two firms were not there in that list. Most of the loan apps are associated with these two unlicensed NBFCs.

In Telangana, 66 FIRs were registered against these rogue apps. In five cases, the borrowers, unable to bear the torture and humiliation unleashed by these Chinese and Indian conmen, committed suicide.