Alarmed Over Fake WhatsApp Rumours, Bank of Maharashtra Files Police Complaint

Bank of Maharashtra on Tuesday said it has lodged a complaint with Pune police and cyber cell against the circulation of fake news and spreading of rumours about its financial health on WhatsApp, a news site and other social media platforms. This complaint is filed against maligning the image of the bank in various social media platforms, it said in a BSE filing. The details of the news portal and Twitter handle are informed to authorities, the filing said.

It said the bank has requested the authorities to detect the origin of fake news and take stern action against the persons behind this act.

"The bank is well capitalised and having a strong loyal customer base of more than 27 million customers and it is growing from strength to strength. The published wrong information about Bank of Maharashtra is misguiding the public in general with an ulterior motive," it said.

The news appearing in social media is not correct and inferences are drawn without knowing the facts, it added.

While the bank has approached the Reserve Bank of India for a mere accounting adjustment of losses against its reserves, by not doing so the financials of the bank will remain sound and unchanged, the filing said.

"Drawing a similarity of the conditions of BoM with some other banks that have faced action from RBI based on realty sector fraud is outstretched and false," it said.

"Figures mentioned in the news on fraud involving BoM is grossly misleading/incorrect. Our exposure to the defaulting reality sector companies is meagre and has very little impact on the bank's balance sheet and profitability," it said.

The bank is committed to protecting the interest of all its valued stakeholders and has initiated strong steps against the miscreants and panic mongers, it said.

"The bank appeals to its trusted patrons to be cautious of misguiding/ false information circulating against it and assures that its financial position continues to be absolutely safe and sound," it added.