Rs 177 Crore: Jammu And Kashmir Ex-Finance Minister's Son Held In Bank Scam

The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) on Thursday arrested a former J&K finance minister’s son who is accused of diverting Rs 177 crore in business loans from the scam-ridden J&K Bank to personal assets abroad, including an eight-bedroom villa on a Dubai island where celebrities like actor Shah Rukh Khan and footballer David Beckham own properties. Hilal Ahmed Rather, the son of three-time National Conference MLA Abdul Rahim Rather, was picked up from Jammu after an investigation into allegations that he used his father’s influence as finance minister in the Omar Abdullah government in 2012 to get multiple loans sanctioned in the name of business ventures. A spokesperson for the ACB said Hilal and his business partners took the bulk of these loans for the Paradise Avenue township project at Narwalbala in Brandi. Almost the entire amount was allegedly diverted to other businesses, personal properties and lavish holidays abroad.