PNB fraud: CBI court sends 3 accused PNB officials to police custody
Reuters PNB
The Income Tax Department today searched at least twenty premises of the Gitanjali Group
A special Mumbai CBI court has ordered Mumbai PNB officials, Bechu Tiwari, Yashwant Joshi and Praful Sawant, to Police custody till 3 March.
Three officers at PNB's MCB Brady House branch in Mumbai were arrested yesterday.
Bechhu Tiwari, Chief Manager in charge of Forex department; Yashwant Joshi, Scale II, Manager Forex department; and Praful Sawant, Scale I Officer Export are among the ones arrested. Their residential premises along with Nirav Modi's office at Peninsula Business Park, Lower Parel were searched yesterday.
Meanwhile, as many as ten PNB officials, including present Executive Director level officers, were quizzed by the CBI earlier today. Eight executives from Nirav Modi's company and ten from the Gitanjali Group were also questioned.
The Income Tax Department also searched at least twenty premises of the Gitanjali Group related to 13 companies. Searches were carried out in Mumbai, Pune, Surat, Hyderabad and Banglore. A CBI search is underway at Nirav Modi's Alibagh farm.
Seven more properties of Mehul Choksi's Gitanjali Group were attached by the Income Tax department yesterday. Nine other accounts of the group were attached by the IT department on February 17.
Senior management officials at Gitanjali Gems called it quits yesterday as announced in a regulatory filing on Monday. The company revealed that CFO Chandrakant Karkare, company’s vice-president (compliance) and a company secretary have resigned.
Punjab National Bank "in view of fraudulent activities" has asked Gitanjali Group companies to pay "outstanding" dues amounting to Rs 1,045.88 crore, the jewellery firm said in a regulatory filing.
The bank has demanded Rs 645.12 crore from Gitanjali Gems, Rs 187.52 from Gili India, Rs 110 from Nakshatra Brands, and Rs 103.24 crore from Asmi Jewellery.
Investigating agencies, including Enforcement Directorate, Central Bureau of Investigation and Income Tax Department, has launched a nationwide probe into the alleged fraud.
According to Enforcement Directorate, assets worth Rs 5716 Crore have been seized in the raids till now. 39 raids were conducted yesterday, out of which 10 were in Mumbai.