 "Why Preity Zinta and Kerala Congress are fighting over a Rs 18-crore loan waiver")
On Tuesday, Bollywood actor Preity Zinta and the Congress engaged in a war of words.
The party’s Kerala unit alleged that the actor received a Rs 18 crore loan waiver after she handed over her social media accounts to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
The allegations were based on a report by Moneylife, which exposed the alleged financial mismanagement and corruption at the bank, which ultimately led to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) cracking a whip on its operations.
Zinta, however, has strongly refuted the claims, calling them “fake news” and slammed both the grand old party and media outlets for spreading misinformation.
Here’s a detailed look at the controversy.
A heated exchange on X
The Kerala Congress alleged that Preity Zinta had given “her social media accounts to the BJP and got Rs 18 crore written off” from the New India Co-operative Bank.
“Depositors are on the streets for their money,” the grand old party unit said in its post, referring to the latest RBI restrictions on withdrawals on the bank.
She gave her social media accounts to BJP and got 18 Cr written off and the bank collapsed last week.
— Congress Kerala (@INCKerala) February 24, 2025
Depositors are on the streets for their money. pic.twitter.com/UnEMMUgslY
The actor dismissed reports of the Rs 18 crore loan waived off by the bank in return for favours to the BJP as “vile gossip.”
In a post on X, Zinta said that the loan in question was “fully paid back” a decade ago and hit out at the Kerala Congress for spreading “fake news.”
In a strongly worded statement, she said, “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 and indulging in vile gossip and click baits using my name and 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,” she added.
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
Congress acknowledges a possible error
Congress, adopting a conciliatory tone, thanked her for the clarification and said it was “willing to accept mistakes if we have made any.”
However, they maintained that their claims were based on media reports, citing an article from IndianCooperative.com that linked Zinta’s name to the larger financial irregularities surrounding New India Cooperative Bank.
The Congress responded to Zinta, “… Thanks for the clarification, @realpreityzinta regarding your loan position. We are glad to accept mistakes if we have made any. We shared the news as reported by media outlets. According to media outlets which reported this story, ex-employees of New India Cooperative Bank had warned the RBI in a letter they wrote in January 2020 about the corrupt practices that was going on in the bank. In that report, your name along with many others were mentioned.”
Good to know you're managing your own account, unlike other celebs who have handed theirs over to the notorious IT cell.
— Congress Kerala (@INCKerala) February 25, 2025
Thanks for the clarification, @realpreityzinta regarding your loan position. We are glad to accept mistakes if we have made any.
We shared the news as… https://t.co/4aouqLaWue
Adding excerpts from the report, the grand old party concluded, “…We are standing with the depositors who lost their savings. If the reports are wrong, we request you to clear the air with proof once for all and raise your voice in their interest too.”
According to the report that the Congress cited, branch managers were not informed that corporate loans totalling up to Rs 25 crore had been approved. Within a year, several of these loans became non-performing assets (NPAs), allegedly as a result of financial diversions. The reported Rs 18 crore loan to Preity Zinta was one of the most well-known examples mentioned. The report claimed the loan was allegedly “written off” without adhering to proper recovery protocols.
In a response, Zinta’s legal team denied the allegations and said, “More than 12 years ago, I had an overdraft facility with the New India Co-operative Bank. More than 10 years ago, I have repaid in full the entire dues in respect of this overdraft facility and the account stands closed.”
Also read: What is MuleHunter.AI, RBI’s new tool to detect mule account frauds?
Preity Zinta slams media
In a following tweet, Zinta called out media houses for failing to verify the information before publishing it.
“So much misinformation going around but thank god for social media and thank god for X! All through my career I have seen so many so respected journalists get so many stories completely wrong and never have the decency to correct the story or apologise. I have also gone to court and spent a tonne of money fighting cases that go on and on and one.”
“I think it’s time we start holding them responsible right here so there is some accountability in the future. I’m definitely going to start naming all these journalists that write articles without following up or investigating the stories,” she wrote.
The actor slammed Sucheta Dalal, who founded Moneylife, which reported the alleged financial mismanagement and corruption at the bank.
“If you don’t value my reputation then sorry I don’t value yours @suchetadalal Next time please call me and find out if the story is true or not before mentioning my name. Just like you, I have spent years working hard and building a reputation so if you don’t care about mine I don’t care about yours. I’m done being a bigger person. This ends here,” she added.
So much misinformation going around but thank god for social media and thank god for X ! All through my career I have seen so many so respected journalists get so many stories completely wrong & never have the decency to correct the story or apologise. I have also gone to court…
— Preity G Zinta (@realpreityzinta) February 25, 2025
The New India Cooperative Bank scam
The fraud at the New India Cooperative Bank involves large sums of money missing from the bank’s safes.
When officials conducted an RBI inspection on February 12, 2025, they discovered that the Prabhadevi branch had Rs 112 crore missing and the Goregaon branch had Rs 10 crore missing, as per The Indian Express.
The Mumbai Police’s Economic Offences Wing (EOW) arrested Hitesh Mehta, the bank’s former general manager and head of accounts, on suspicion of embezzling Rs 122 crore.
According to reports, he collaborated with developer Dharmesh Paun, who helped launder the taken money. For his alleged involvement, Unnanathan Arunachalam, another suspect, is also being investigated.
Confusion and panic ensued when the RBI placed severe restrictions on the bank after the scam was exposed, prohibiting new loans, investments, and even depositor withdrawals. A former SBI general manager was named administrator to supervise the bank’s operations after the board of directors dismissed him.
On February 24, the RBI permitted New India Co-operative customers to withdraw up to Rs 25,000 from their accounts.
With inputs from agencies
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