Preity Zinta Breaks Silence on Rs 18 Crore Loan Controversy and Clash With Kerala Congress

Despite her absence from movies, Preity Zinta is still a well-known celebrity. Despite her decades-long career, the actress remains one of the most adored divas. She just made headlines, though, for the most surprising reason. According to reports, a bank wrote off her Rs 18 crore loan. The Reserve Bank of India recently began investigating the New India Cooperative Bank Ltd. for financial misconduct. Preity Zinta's name and her purported loan also attracted notice during this time. However, the actress has now provided an explanation.

Days after investigators discovered Rs 122 crore missing from the bank, the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) questioned six firms that audited New India Cooperative Bank between 2019 and 2024, according to sources. In a post on X, the Kerala chapter of the Congress party claimed that actor Preity Zinta had given her social media accounts to the BJP and received a Rs 18 crore debt waiver from New India. They maintained that the EOW probe has nothing to do with the social media scandal surrounding Zinta.

Preity Zinta in Legal Trouble?

Preity Zinta has refuted all of the claims that the Rs 18 crore loan was written off, according to the Times of India. Preity Zinta disclosed that her bank account has been closed through her legal team. In a statement, she said, "I had an overdraft facility with New India Cooperative Bank more than 12 years ago. I paid off all of the debt associated with this overdraft facility more than ten years ago, and the account has since been terminated."

No I operate my social media accounts my self and shame on you for promoting FAKE NEWS ! 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 &… https://t.co/cdnEvqnkYx

— Preity G Zinta (@realpreityzinta) February 25, 2025

The six auditors were summoned in connection with the scandal in which Rs 122 crore that was purportedly stored in safes at the bank's offices in Prabhadevi and Goregaon, Mumbai, was discovered to be missing. According to the EOW, the Prabhadevi and Goregaon vaults in New India had a capacity of Rs 20 crore for storing currency. On February 11, New India announced that it has Rs 133 crore in two safes. When counting the currency, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) discovered just Rs 11.13 crore, leaving the remaining Rs 122 crore unaccounted for.

According to reports, the bank approved loans totalling around Rs 25 crore without the branch manager's knowledge. Due to cash diversion, many of these loans allegedly became non-performing assets. The purported loan of Rs 18 crore to Preity Zinta was one of the well-known incidents. Additionally, the study asserted that the loan was obtained without adhering to the correct recovery protocols. The actress has addressed the rumours and corrected the records.

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