Bank fraud amount rises 30% to ₹21,515 crore in April-September H1FY26 | Banking – Business Standard

Clipped from: https://www.business-standard.com/industry/banking/bank-fraud-rises-30pc-to-rs-21515cr-in-apr-september-period-125122900997_1.html

Banking system fraud amount rose to ₹21,515 crore in April-September FY26, up 30 per cent year-on-year, even as the number of cases fell sharply to 5,092

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The amount involved in banking system frauds surged to ₹21,515 crore in the first half of FY26 (H1FY26), up 30 per cent from the same period last year, even as the number of frauds fell 2.8 times to 5,092.

In comparison, the amount involved in banking system frauds stood at ₹16,569 crore in H1FY25, while the number of cases was higher at 18,386. For the full FY25, frauds amounted to ₹34,771 crore and the number of cases stood at 23,879.

The increase in the value of frauds in H1FY26 was mainly attributed to the re-examination and fresh reporting of 122 cases involving ₹18,336 crore, after ensuring compliance with the Supreme Court’s judgment dated March 27, 2023.

“Based on the date of occurrence of frauds, during 2024-25, card or internet frauds accounted for 66.8 per cent of the total number of cases. In value terms, advances-related frauds accounted for 33.1 per cent,” the report said. The data refers to frauds of ₹1 lakh and above.

As of September 30, 2025, banks and financial institutions had withdrawn 942 fraud cases involving ₹1.28 trillion due to non-compliance with the principles of natural justice, in line with the Supreme Court judgment.

In 2024-25, private banks accounted for 59.3 per cent of the total number of frauds reported, while public-sector banks (PSBs) accounted for 70.7 per cent of the total amount involved. Within private banks, card or internet-related frauds formed the largest share by number, while advances-related frauds accounted for the highest share by value.

State-owned banks, on the other hand, reported the highest share of advances-related frauds, both in terms of the number of cases and the amount involved. The share of card or internet frauds declined across all bank groups during 2024-25, both in terms of number and value.

“The share of advances-related frauds, both by number and amount, increased across all bank groups (except PSBs in terms of amount), primarily due to a significant portion of reclassified frauds being associated with advances,” the report added.