Google has removed 2,500 fraudulent loan apps from its Play Store, says Finance Minister Sitharaman

Google took down over 2,500 fraudulent loan apps from its Play Store between April 2021 and July 2022, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman reportedly claimed in a written reply to a query in the Lok Sabha Monday. The minister also said that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had shared ‘whitelist' of betting apps with the government to separate applications that operate legally from those that flout guidelines. Earlier this year, the Indian government banned over 230 Chinese-linked lending apps that facilitate betting and loans following complaints of extortion and harassment.

According to Sitharaman, the government has been in talks with the RBI and other industry stakeholders over curbing illegal loan apps in the country, a report in the Mint said.

"Between April 2021 and July 2022, Google also reviewed approximately 3,500 to 4,000 loan lending apps and suspended or removed over 2,500 fraudulent loan apps from its Play Store," Sitharaman was quoted as saying in the report. The issue of fraudulent loan apps is regularly brought up in meetings of the Financial Stability and Development Council (FSDC), the report added.