EOW confirms no complaints against actress Preity Zinta in New India Cooperative Bank scam (Photo: IANS)
Mumbai, Feb 25 (IANS) The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of Mumbai has officially clarified that Preity Zinta is not under investigation in connection with the New Cooperative Bank scam, which has raised concerns over an Rs. 18 crore loan that was granted to her and later written off.
In a statement issued by EOW officials, it is made clear that the actress' name does not feature in any current investigations. “We have not received any complaints regarding Preity Zinta, nor is her case part of the ongoing inquiry," an EOW officer mentioned. Despite the ongoing discussions about her on social media, the authorities have affirmed that there has been no investigation conducted into her involvement.
The EOW is reportedly primarily focused on investigating the Rs. 122 crore embezzlement by bank officials, which has been at the center of the scam. As for Preity, the actress remains unaffected by the investigations at this point.
Preity Zinta on Tuesday accused the Congress party's Kerala unit of spreading fake news and exploiting her name and popularity to advance its political agenda. The Soldier actress’ strong rebuke of the Kerala Congress came in response to reports connecting her to a bank loan from the recently collapsed New India Cooperative Bank.
The Kerala Congress took to X (formerly Twitter), alleging that the actress allowed her social media platforms to be used by the BJP and that she received an Rs 18 crore loan from the bank, which was written off by the ruling government without proper recovery procedures.
“The bank collapsed last week. Depositors are on the streets for their money,” Kerala Congress further said in a post.
Preity Zinta rubbished the charge and accused the Congress' state unit of promoting fake news. The 'Veer Zara' actress said, “No one wrote off anything or any loan for me. 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.”
The actress' name surfaced when the alleged corruption within the New India Cooperative Bank came to light. The bank recently collapsed, leading the RBI to impose stringent restrictions on its operations.
