As Probe Continues Into China-linked Loan Apps, Google Removes Hundreds Of Them From Play Store

Tech giant Google on Thursday said it has reviewed hundreds of personal loan apps in India and pulled down several of them found to be violating its app policies.

"We have reviewed hundreds of personal loan apps in India, based on flags submitted by users and government agencies," said Suzanne Frey, Vice President, Product, Android Security and Privacy.

Reuters

"Apps that fail to do so will be removed without further notice. In addition, we will continue to assist the law enforcement agencies in their investigation of this issue," Frey said in a statement.

Good move

"Apps that were found to violate our user safety policies were immediately removed from the store, and we have asked the developers of the remaining identified apps to demonstrate that they comply with applicable local laws and regulations," Google said, adding that "we only allow personal loan apps with full repayment required in greater than or equal to 60 days from the date the loan is issued".

The development comes as the probe in several states into the activities of these apps-based loan providers are continuing.

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In Telangana, which has seen the highest number of cases filed, the police said they have arrested one more Chinese national in connection with the fraud.

26-year-old HE Jian, a native of Jiangxi in China, was arrested from Thane in Maharashtra along with an Indian national. Jian had come to India on a business visa and has been linked to other Chinese nationals who are the directors of several instant loan app companies.

Loan apps gained popularity during lockdown

The instant loan apps that became popular among students and employed during the lockdown were offering loans without any verifications or background checks.

Many who were in desperate need of money took these short-term loans which had a high-interest rate to meet the urgent need, but as they defaulted on payments, they were met with threatening phone calls and other ways of harassment.

Online loan horror :

Representative of a loan app called " Udhaar Loan " Asking a girl from Tamilnadu to video call her naked , if she fails to pay loan on time .

She attempted suicide today.

Please share max until it reaches @PMOIndia . pic.twitter.com/nD9evsGrhl

¡ª Prashanth Rangaswamy (@itisprashanth) November 8, 2020

@MumbaiPolice @Navimumpolice legal notice issued by icredit and u-cash harrasing and thretning over whatsapp and call @smittal_ips @Fight_back_IN @MahaCyber1 @Pravinkks ..call and whatsapp active from mumbai region now . pic.twitter.com/wBwoPG3BCZ

¡ª Aatish Mohite (@aatish_mohite) January 10, 2021

According to some of the victims, their loan amount had doubled and tripled in a matter of weeks and they were forced to take another loan from another app to pay the first loan, thus ending up in a trap of debt.

The biggest scam app Truebalance.Approved amount 37k but credit amount 28k!No proper information about how many months or days they provide loan!Just that they will show approved limit and direct disbursement.Look at the processing fee! @mkvbalu @Pravinkks @cpcybd @gurgaonpolice pic.twitter.com/DH9MHG2qri

¡ª Akhilesh Iyer (@Akhileshiyerr) January 9, 2021

On Wednesday, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announced the constitution of a working group to suggest regulatory measures to promote orderly growth of digital lending amid rising incidents of harassments relating to online lending.

Reserve Bank constitutes a Working Group on digital lending including lending through online platforms and mobile appshttps://t.co/Ylnv4RoHE4

¡ª ReserveBankOfIndia (@RBI) January 13, 2021

Reuters

It had also noted that the recent spurt and popularity of online lending platforms/mobile lending apps has raised certain serious concerns which have wider systemic implications. Last month, RBI had cautioned the public not to fall prey to the growing number of unauthorised digital lending platforms and mobile apps.