Indiabulls-owned Dhani app faces allegations of fake loans via stolen PAN details

Several social media users complained this week that unaccounted loans have appeared in their credit history even as they never borrowed any money from Indiabulls-owned Dhani Loans and Services.

Fraudsters apparently used the permanent account number (PAN) details of people to avail instant loans from the Dhani app.

Dhani Loans and Services, formerly known as Indiabulls Consumer Finance, is a non-deposit taking NBFC registered with the Reserve Bank of India and a 100% subsidiary of Dhani Services Ltd.

Aditya Kalra, a Reuters journalist in India, was among the people who found out that a personal loan was disbursed by Dhani Loans and Services on his PAN number and name with addresses in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.

"How can a disbursal happen on my name and PAN," Kalra asked on microblogging platform Twitter.

As per the documents shared by Kalra, the person who availed the loan did not repay it and the pending amount was ₹9,945. Kalra said the fake loan taken on his PAN details already defaulted in November and December 2021, hurting his credit score.

Communications strategy consultant Karthik Srinivasan also claimed that there is a loan with his PAN number attributed to IVL Finance while he has never been to the address mentioned.

The company offers credit from ₹10,000 up to 5 lakh via a digital card. Those who avail a loan can instantly use the disbursed amount for online transactions.

Another Twitter user Niraj Mehta claimed that someone availed loan using his PAN details without him receiving any one time password (OTP) from Dhani. Mehta, who found this disbursal entry in his credit report, said the mobile number registered for the loan was fake.

Data scientist Zubin Mehta tweeted that he is also stuck with “fake loan disbursal issue”. Mehta claimed that the picture used during the KYC for the loan processing was the one he had used on a different platform three years ago.

Twitter user Vishal Vilas Hadwali claimed that someone else availed a loan using his Aadhaar and PAN details without him getting any OTP on his number.

Twitter user Rishabh Babuta, whose profile says he is merchant navy officer, had alleged that the company is issuing loans without PAN verification.

Queries sent to Dhani's spokesperson did not elicit any response.

The Dhani app has over 5 crore downloads on Google's Play Store.