International banks operating in Arab countries are reportedly threatening expatriates, who have returned to the country after defaulting on their loans and credit card payments.
These banks have hired local recovery agents who are using coercive tactics against defaulters despite them being bankrupt. Most of these defaulters left the Gulf after they lost their jobs due to the recession. Many are still unemployed even after returning home.
City residents Sandhya Rani and husband Venugopal are being harassed by recovery agents following Venugopal’s return from Abu Dhabi after defaulting on two personal loans with banks there. A palpably distressed Sandhya said, “In 2008, when the economy was booming, my husband was pushed into taking loans of Rs 16 lakh. Till 2009, he promptly paid his EMIs, but he couldn’t pay after he lost his job that year.”
She added that the banks would torture her husband into paying the EMIs till he somehow managed to return to India. But this did not spell an end to their woes. “Every day, these recovery agents call us at least 12-15 times, threatening all types of blackmail. They come to our house every alternate day, create a big fuss and threaten us with Interpol,” she said. This continued to happen even after informing them about their bankruptcy. A distressed Sandhya said their life had become so unbearable that her husband had even contemplated suicide.