Global star Priyanka Chopra terminated her contract with celebrity jeweller <a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/who-is-nirav-modi-the-billionaire-jeweller-at-centre-of-rs-11000-crore-scam-32970" target="_blank">Nirav Modi</a> and stepped down as a brand ambassador, as reported by news agency ANI Friday.&nbsp;

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In light of recent allegations, Priyanka Chopra has chosen to terminate her contract with the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NiravModi?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NiravModi</a> brand: Priyanka Chopra&#39;s spokesperson (File Pic) <a href="https://t.co/NnXYBeYc0Q">pic.twitter.com/NnXYBeYc0Q</a>
&mdash; ANI (@ANI) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI/status/966964100776579072?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 23, 2018</a></blockquote>
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This comes in the wake of Nirav Modi committing a fraud worth Rs. 11,300 crore with Punjab National Bank (PNB).&nbsp;

The bank is now trying to recover dues from the jeweller who is out of the country with family. PNB told Nirav Modi on Thursday to come up with a concrete plan to return the loan amount borrowed by his companies without following proper procedures.&nbsp;

Earlier on February 20, Nirav Modi wrote a&nbsp;letter to PNB accusing the bank of discrediting his legacy and name in the industry and &quot;destroying his brand&quot;. Read the full letter <a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/full-text-of-nirav-modis-letter-to-pnb-33448" target="_blank">here</a>.&nbsp;

In response, PNB wrote back accusing him of &quot;illegally using bank LoUs and declared he was guilty of FEMA violation and money laundering&quot;. Read the detailed letter <a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/you-were-getting-lous-issued-illegally-says-pnb-in-letter-to-nirav-modi-33705" target="_blank">here</a>.&nbsp;

It has been reported that&nbsp;Nirav Modi, who holds an Indian passport, left India on January 1, while his brother Nishal, a Belgian citizen, departed from the country on the same day. Modi&#39;s wife Ami, a US citizen, left on January 6 and his uncle and business partner&nbsp;<a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/after-ed-raids-on-nirav-modis-showrooms-cbi-targets-mehul-choksis-gitanjali-group-33063" target="_blank">Mehul Choksi, the promoter of Gitanjali jewellery chain</a>, left on January 4.

Nirav Modi is currently under investigation over alleged bank fraud of Rs. 11,300 crore

Global star Priyanka Chopra terminated her contract with celebrity jeweller Nirav Modi and stepped down as a brand ambassador, as reported by news agency ANI Friday. In light of recent allegations, Priyanka Chopra has chosen to terminate her contract with the #NiravModi brand: Priyanka Chopra's spokesperson (File Pic) pic.twitter.com/NnXYBeYc0Q — ANI (@ANI) February 23, 2018 × This comes in the wake of Nirav Modi committing a fraud worth Rs. 11,300 crore with Punjab National Bank (PNB). The bank is now trying to recover dues from the jeweller who is out of the country with family. PNB told Nirav Modi on Thursday to come up with a concrete plan to return the loan amount borrowed by his companies without following proper procedures. Earlier on February 20, Nirav Modi wrote a letter to PNB accusing the bank of discrediting his legacy and name in the industry and "destroying his brand". Read the full letter here. In response, PNB wrote back accusing him of "illegally using bank LoUs and declared he was guilty of FEMA violation and money laundering". Read the detailed letter here. It has been reported that Nirav Modi, who holds an Indian passport, left India on January 1, while his brother Nishal, a Belgian citizen, departed from the country on the same day. Modi's wife Ami, a US citizen, left on January 6 and his uncle and business partner Mehul Choksi, the promoter of Gitanjali jewellery chain, left on January 4.

Priyanka Chopra quits as Nirav Modi brand ambassador

The Enforcement Directorate has frozen Nirav Modi&#39;s assets worth nearly Rs. 43.86 crore. The 11,400 crore Punjab National Bank (PNB) scam involves complaints of Rs 280 crore against Nirav Modi, his family members and Mehul Choksi, owner of Gitanjali Gems.

The CBI and the Enforcement Directorate have come into action after the case was registered. So far, scores of raids and searches have been carried out across the country.

The ED froze Modi&#39;s bank accounts with a total balance of Rs 30 crore on Friday. Shares worth Rs 13.86 crore held in a company of Nirav Modi have also been attached.

Close to 176 steel almirahs and 60 plastic containers containing imported watches have being seized by the ED in today&#39;s raid. Properties belonging to Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi are under the scanner and are been raided by the ED.

On Sunday, the ED is reported to have conducted raids at 45 different locations across 15 cities, while on Saturday close to 21 locations across India were raided. The enforcement body seized diamonds, gold, precious stones and jewellery worth Rs 25 crore.

The CBI has arrested five high profile accused in the case so far -- : Vipul Ambani, president, finance, Firestar International Pvt Ltd.; Kavita Mankikar, executive assistant and authorised signatory of the three accused firms, Arjun Patil, senior executive, Firestar group; Kapil Khandelwal, CFO, Nakshatra group; and Niten Shahi, manager, Gitanjali.

Five PNB officials including a General Manager (GM) rank officer of the nationalised bank have also been sacked.&nbsp;

So far, scores of raids and searches have been carried out across the country by the ED

The Enforcement Directorate has frozen Nirav Modi's assets worth nearly Rs. 43.86 crore. The 11,400 crore Punjab National Bank (PNB) scam involves complaints of Rs 280 crore against Nirav Modi, his family members and Mehul Choksi, owner of Gitanjali Gems. The CBI and the Enforcement Directorate have come into action after the case was registered. So far, scores of raids and searches have been carried out across the country. The ED froze Modi's bank accounts with a total balance of Rs 30 crore on Friday. Shares worth Rs 13.86 crore held in a company of Nirav Modi have also been attached. Close to 176 steel almirahs and 60 plastic containers containing imported watches have being seized by the ED in today's raid. Properties belonging to Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi are under the scanner and are been raided by the ED. On Sunday, the ED is reported to have conducted raids at 45 different locations across 15 cities, while on Saturday close to 21 locations across India were raided. The enforcement body seized diamonds, gold, precious stones and jewellery worth Rs 25 crore. The CBI has arrested five high profile accused in the case so far -- : Vipul Ambani, president, finance, Firestar International Pvt Ltd.; Kavita Mankikar, executive assistant and authorised signatory of the three accused firms, Arjun Patil, senior executive, Firestar group; Kapil Khandelwal, CFO, Nakshatra group; and Niten Shahi, manager, Gitanjali. Five PNB officials including a General Manager (GM) rank officer of the nationalised bank have also been sacked.

PNB fraud: Enforcement Directorate freezes Nirav Modi's assets worth Rs 43.86 crore

When the dust settles a bit on the Punjab National Bank scam surrounding luxury jeweller Nirav Modi and his uncle Mehul Choksi&#39;s Gitanjali Jewels, whose shares tanked through the week, we are likely to find that the disgraced companies being investigated by authorities for bank frauds and/or loan defaults may be sitting on hidden assets. I speak of intellectual property such as brands and designs, relationships with exquisite artisans who craft jewellery, and valuable staff who might have done no wrong while their masters made pots of money through dubious means.

Among the welter of jokes, memes, innuendos, explanations and scandalised messages that I received on the elusive Nirav Modi last week, one from a woman friend stood out: &quot;Nirav Modi designs are too good. I love to copy them.&quot;

I have my doubts if this Wharton business school dropout himself did his designs, though his official website claims: &quot;Nirav Modi is the only living Indian diamond jeweller lauded at international auctions at Sotheby&#39;s &amp; Christie&#39;s. Our diamond jewellery designs have earned the distinction of being recognised as among the best in the world.&quot;

A bow-tie-clad Modi has been photographed with sultry models sipping champagne, and his name is plastered alongside movie star Priyanka Chopra&#39;s image in the hotspots of Delhi and Mumbai. However, apart from his family origins in the diamond business, what one sees is carefully crafted glitter that is more about the showy man than the jewels he sells. His name may now be a liability but his own letter to the Punjab National Bank, in which he has the audacity to accuse the fraud-hit bank of spoiling his business, reveals he has 2,200 employees, hundreds of who must probably be talented in design, craft or marketing.

Take a look at Gitanjali Jewels. Its website says the company &quot;offers a dazzling bouquet of world&#39;s leading jewellery brands that include Nakshatra, Gili, D&#39;damas, Asmi, Diya, Maya Gold, Parineeta, Collection G, Gold Expressions,..&quot; et al. A deeper probe reveals that Gitanjali&#39;s promoter Mehul Choksi might have sold elegant choker necklaces but also specialised in choking whistleblowers in his group including franchisees and a former managing director who says the company sold fake or substandard diamonds to unsuspecting customers. Two of his key employees quit this week, including the company secretary who said her conscience would not permit staying on amid disclosure problems.

Nirav Modi has written to the PNB that authorities raiding his Firestar group firms seized assets estimated at Rs 5,649 crore that would have covered the money he owed to the bank. There are those who say that these assets, especially uncrafted diamonds, could have been multiplied by value through his skills. But look harder, and you will find the true expertise belong to designers and artisans. In the case of Gitanjali, even a good amount of the capital for investment came from franchisees.

In all likelihood, the Firestar and Gitanjali companies are headed for the cleaners and promoters may have to make way for the banks and the government to fix the future of the assets they leave behind.&nbsp;

While brand experts debate the future of the jewellery brands, it might make sense for us to look back at the erstwhile Satyam Computer Services Ltd, which was rescued in a government-led effort and folded into the listed Tech Mahindra after being hit by India&#39;s biggest accounting fraud. The sad part is that many employees at the core of the software company left in a maze of uncertainty - in a business in which people are assets.

I think designer jewellery also has a huge amount of unsung human capital, just like software. The PNB fraud may be a good opportunity to look beyond the crony-capitalist promoters and reward the real people who make it happen. My big idea: why not create the jewellery equivalent of Amul (for milk products) or Khadi (for village industries) and fold all the brands and remaining assets of the disgraced jewellery firms into an entity that may be truly world-class while helping artisans and designers?

The place of Tech Mahindra in the Satyam rescue act may theoretically be taken up by a rival like Titan Ltd (which owns Tanishq) or P.C. Jeweller Ltd. However, a third, more enchanting option, would be to create a cooperative of artisans and designers and put it in league with private equity companies and existing staff of Nirav Modi&#39;s Firestar group companies and Gitanjali group entities to form a new age company that rewards old-world talent.

Gujarat, where the origins of Modi and Choksi lie, is also home to Amul. Indian jewellery could do with a Verghese Kurien who can bring together artisans and reward them properly. From all indications, Choksi and Nirav Modi reaped dubious and disproportionate profits standing on the back of the sweat, inspiration and talent of thousands of artisans and designers, besides franchisees who sunk money into stores only to feel cheated. We need to reward the real hard work that went under their facades.

There are dozens of modern jewellery designers in India to match the traditional craft of artisans in and around towns such as Gujarat&#39;s Palanpur whose business families, including those of the Modis and Choksis, have made waves in the Belgian town of Antwerp, the global diamond hub. It is time to craft a new global company whose design matches the best of jewels and one that could shine in an ethical yet trendy manner, the way Amul has done at the top of a milkmen&#39;s cooperative movement.

It is a romantic idea for a corporate rescue but one that I think deserves attention. After all, Prime Minister Narendra Modi wants a big boost to &quot;Make In India.&quot; Let us not confuse that with &quot;Fraud in India.&quot;&nbsp;

(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)

Let’s learn from Amul. It is a romantic idea for a corporate rescue but one that may deserve attention.

When the dust settles a bit on the Punjab National Bank scam surrounding luxury jeweller Nirav Modi and his uncle Mehul Choksi's Gitanjali Jewels, whose shares tanked through the week, we are likely to find that the disgraced companies being investigated by authorities for bank frauds and/or loan defaults may be sitting on hidden assets. I speak of intellectual property such as brands and designs, relationships with exquisite artisans who craft jewellery, and valuable staff who might have done no wrong while their masters made pots of money through dubious means. Among the welter of jokes, memes, innuendos, explanations and scandalised messages that I received on the elusive Nirav Modi last week, one from a woman friend stood out: "Nirav Modi designs are too good. I love to copy them." I have my doubts if this Wharton business school dropout himself did his designs, though his official website claims: "Nirav Modi is the only living Indian diamond jeweller lauded at international auctions at Sotheby's & Christie's. Our diamond jewellery designs have earned the distinction of being recognised as among the best in the world." A bow-tie-clad Modi has been photographed with sultry models sipping champagne, and his name is plastered alongside movie star Priyanka Chopra's image in the hotspots of Delhi and Mumbai. However, apart from his family origins in the diamond business, what one sees is carefully crafted glitter that is more about the showy man than the jewels he sells. His name may now be a liability but his own letter to the Punjab National Bank, in which he has the audacity to accuse the fraud-hit bank of spoiling his business, reveals he has 2,200 employees, hundreds of who must probably be talented in design, craft or marketing. Take a look at Gitanjali Jewels. Its website says the company "offers a dazzling bouquet of world's leading jewellery brands that include Nakshatra, Gili, D'damas, Asmi, Diya, Maya Gold, Parineeta, Collection G, Gold Expressions,.." et al. A deeper probe reveals that Gitanjali's promoter Mehul Choksi might have sold elegant choker necklaces but also specialised in choking whistleblowers in his group including franchisees and a former managing director who says the company sold fake or substandard diamonds to unsuspecting customers. Two of his key employees quit this week, including the company secretary who said her conscience would not permit staying on amid disclosure problems. Nirav Modi has written to the PNB that authorities raiding his Firestar group firms seized assets estimated at Rs 5,649 crore that would have covered the money he owed to the bank. There are those who say that these assets, especially uncrafted diamonds, could have been multiplied by value through his skills. But look harder, and you will find the true expertise belong to designers and artisans. In the case of Gitanjali, even a good amount of the capital for investment came from franchisees. In all likelihood, the Firestar and Gitanjali companies are headed for the cleaners and promoters may have to make way for the banks and the government to fix the future of the assets they leave behind. While brand experts debate the future of the jewellery brands, it might make sense for us to look back at the erstwhile Satyam Computer Services Ltd, which was rescued in a government-led effort and folded into the listed Tech Mahindra after being hit by India's biggest accounting fraud. The sad part is that many employees at the core of the software company left in a maze of uncertainty - in a business in which people are assets. I think designer jewellery also has a huge amount of unsung human capital, just like software. The PNB fraud may be a good opportunity to look beyond the crony-capitalist promoters and reward the real people who make it happen. My big idea: why not create the jewellery equivalent of Amul (for milk products) or Khadi (for village industries) and fold all the brands and remaining assets of the disgraced jewellery firms into an entity that may be truly world-class while helping artisans and designers? The place of Tech Mahindra in the Satyam rescue act may theoretically be taken up by a rival like Titan Ltd (which owns Tanishq) or P.C. Jeweller Ltd. However, a third, more enchanting option, would be to create a cooperative of artisans and designers and put it in league with private equity companies and existing staff of Nirav Modi's Firestar group companies and Gitanjali group entities to form a new age company that rewards old-world talent. Gujarat, where the origins of Modi and Choksi lie, is also home to Amul. Indian jewellery could do with a Verghese Kurien who can bring together artisans and reward them properly. From all indications, Choksi and Nirav Modi reaped dubious and disproportionate profits standing on the back of the sweat, inspiration and talent of thousands of artisans and designers, besides franchisees who sunk money into stores only to feel cheated. We need to reward the real hard work that went under their facades. There are dozens of modern jewellery designers in India to match the traditional craft of artisans in and around towns such as Gujarat's Palanpur whose business families, including those of the Modis and Choksis, have made waves in the Belgian town of Antwerp, the global diamond hub. It is time to craft a new global company whose design matches the best of jewels and one that could shine in an ethical yet trendy manner, the way Amul has done at the top of a milkmen's cooperative movement. It is a romantic idea for a corporate rescue but one that I think deserves attention. After all, Prime Minister Narendra Modi wants a big boost to "Make In India." Let us not confuse that with "Fraud in India." (Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)

Opinion: Let us give Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi companies to their employees, make them cooperatives

Punjab National Bank denied media reports that claimed that the bank has transferred close to <a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/post-scam-pnb-transfers-nearly-18000-employees-after-cvc-rap-33622" target="_blank">18,000 employees </a>due to the ongoing probe in the Rs 11,400 crore Nirav Modi scam.

In a message on its Twitter handle, PNB clarified that it had transferred a total of 1,415 employees since February 19.

&ldquo;There have been reports appearing in the media that the Bank has transferred close to 18,000 employees, the same is factually incorrect,&rdquo; the bank said in a press statement.&nbsp;

&ldquo;The bank has transferred 257 Sub Staff, 437 Clerks and 721 Officers (Total 1415 employees) since 19th February 2018, as per prevailing Rotational Transfer Policy of the Bank,&quot; the bank said.

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In a message on its Twitter handle, PNB clarified that it had transferred a total of 1,415 employees since February 19. (Others)
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&quot;The working in the branches is going on smoothly and the above transfers are in no way affecting the customer service in the Bank,&quot; it added.

Statement also claimed that these transfers have not impacted the smooth functioning of the branches

Punjab National Bank denied media reports that claimed that the bank has transferred close to 18,000 employees due to the ongoing probe in the Rs 11,400 crore Nirav Modi scam. In a message on its Twitter handle, PNB clarified that it had transferred a total of 1,415 employees since February 19. “There have been reports appearing in the media that the Bank has transferred close to 18,000 employees, the same is factually incorrect,” the bank said in a press statement. “The bank has transferred 257 Sub Staff, 437 Clerks and 721 Officers (Total 1415 employees) since 19th February 2018, as per prevailing Rotational Transfer Policy of the Bank," the bank said. In a message on its Twitter handle, PNB clarified that it had transferred a total of 1,415 employees since February 19. (Others) × "The working in the branches is going on smoothly and the above transfers are in no way affecting the customer service in the Bank," it added.

Punjab National Bank denies reports of transferring 18,000 employees

Prime Minister Narendra Modi finally broke his long maintained silence over&nbsp;the <a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/full-text-of-nirav-modis-letter-to-pnb-33448" target="_blank">Rs 11,400 crore PNB scam </a>that stirred the nation.

While speaking at Fourth Global Business Summit organised&nbsp;in Delhi by Economic Times he said his government has always taken strict action against financial irregularities and will continue to do that.&nbsp;

&quot;I want to make it clear that this government has been taking strict action against financial irregularities and will continue to take strict action, System will not tolerate loot of public money,&quot; he said.

He also requested the management of institutions to &quot;do their job diligently and with dedication&quot;.&nbsp;

He said, &quot;I want to make an appeal to those who have been entrusted with the job of framing rules and policies and maintaining ethics to do their job diligently and with dedication,&nbsp;this should especially be followed by those who have been entrusted with the responsibility of supervision and monitoring.&nbsp;

Hitting out at the former government, he said &quot;You are aware of the earlier banking system and how an environment of crony capitalism was entrenched in the system. More than 2000 insolvency professionals and 62 insolvency entities are engaged in solving this. Our govt in three months has been able to solve more than 2700 cases&quot;.

He also said that his government had managed to connect over one lakh village panchayats through optical fiber in three years,&nbsp;while the previous government connected only 59 panchayats.&nbsp;

He said India was counted in &quot;Fragile 5&quot; four years ago, however, today the country&#39;s $ 5 trillion economy was the highlight.&nbsp;&nbsp;

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You will remember 4 years ago, when India was talked about, it was counted in &#39;Fragile 5&#39;. Today India&#39;s $5 trillion economy aim, &amp; not Fragile 5, is talked about: PM Narendra Modi <a href="https://t.co/JiC13KeJA2">pic.twitter.com/JiC13KeJA2</a>
&mdash; ANI (@ANI) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI/status/967050290535870466?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 23, 2018</a></blockquote>
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While the previous govt connected only 59 panchayats through optical fibre, our govt in just 3 years connected more than 1,10,000 village panchayats through optical fibre: PM Narendra Modi <a href="https://t.co/dFZpAe9dJe">pic.twitter.com/dFZpAe9dJe</a>
&mdash; ANI (@ANI) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI/status/967054773139726337?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 23, 2018</a></blockquote>
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While speaking at Fourth Global Business Summit organised in Delhi by Economic Times he said 'I want to make it clear that this government has been taking strict action against financial irregularities and will continue to take strict action, System will not tolerate loot of public money'

Prime Minister Narendra Modi finally broke his long maintained silence over the Rs 11,400 crore PNB scam that stirred the nation. While speaking at Fourth Global Business Summit organised in Delhi by Economic Times he said his government has always taken strict action against financial irregularities and will continue to do that. "I want to make it clear that this government has been taking strict action against financial irregularities and will continue to take strict action, System will not tolerate loot of public money," he said. He also requested the management of institutions to "do their job diligently and with dedication". He said, "I want to make an appeal to those who have been entrusted with the job of framing rules and policies and maintaining ethics to do their job diligently and with dedication, this should especially be followed by those who have been entrusted with the responsibility of supervision and monitoring. Hitting out at the former government, he said "You are aware of the earlier banking system and how an environment of crony capitalism was entrenched in the system. More than 2000 insolvency professionals and 62 insolvency entities are engaged in solving this. Our govt in three months has been able to solve more than 2700 cases". He also said that his government had managed to connect over one lakh village panchayats through optical fiber in three years, while the previous government connected only 59 panchayats. He said India was counted in "Fragile 5" four years ago, however, today the country's $ 5 trillion economy was the highlight. You will remember 4 years ago, when India was talked about, it was counted in 'Fragile 5'. Today India's $5 trillion economy aim, & not Fragile 5, is talked about: PM Narendra Modi pic.twitter.com/JiC13KeJA2 — ANI (@ANI) February 23, 2018 × While the previous govt connected only 59 panchayats through optical fibre, our govt in just 3 years connected more than 1,10,000 village panchayats through optical fibre: PM Narendra Modi pic.twitter.com/dFZpAe9dJe — ANI (@ANI) February 23, 2018 ×

Our government will continue to take strict action against financial irregularities: PM Modi

PNB officials today sent a <a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/post-scam-pnb-transfers-nearly-18000-employees-after-cvc-rap-33622">letter Nirav Modi accusing him</a> of illegally using bank LoUs and declared he was guilty of FEMA violation and money laundering.

&ldquo;You were getting Letter of Undertaking(<a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/pnb-scam-government-to-propose-change-to-swift-system-ed-seizes-nirav-modi-mehul-choksi-stocks-worth-rs-94-crore-33684">LoUs</a>)<a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/pnb-scam-government-to-propose-change-to-swift-system-ed-seizes-nirav-modi-mehul-choksi-stocks-worth-rs-94-crore-33684"> issued illegally and </a>in an unauthorized way through few bank officials. At no stage such facilities were extended by our bank to the three partner firms,&quot; PNB said in its letter.

PNB has accused Nirav Modi of defrauding the bank of &nbsp;Rs 11,300 crores since 2011 with the help of bank officials who have since been arrested.

&quot;When these illegal activities surfaced, they pointed out towards apparent violation of&nbsp;&nbsp;Foreign Exchange Regulation Act(FEMA) and money laundering aspect, the state bank said, adding,&quot;As required by law, the bank was compelled to bring there activities to the notice of law and enforcement agencies which the bank did.&quot;

&quot;Your commitment and undertaking for sparing of the total liability was not backed by providing upfront amounts and timelines. However, should you have any concrete and implementable plan, do revert back.&rdquo;

The Enforcement Directorate meanwhile continued to crackdown on Nirav Modi&#39;s assets in the country.&nbsp;

In addition to freezing shares and mutual funds worth Rs 94 crore belonging to Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi, it also seized a number of luxury cars belonging to the duo.

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In what could be the biggest banking fraud in India, state-owned Punjab National Bank has said it has detected a US $1.77 billion scam and billionaire jeweller Nirav Modi is at the centre of it. (WION Web Team)
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PNB has accused Nirav Modi of defrauding the bank of Rs 11,300 crores since 2011

PNB officials today sent a letter Nirav Modi accusing him of illegally using bank LoUs and declared he was guilty of FEMA violation and money laundering. “You were getting Letter of Undertaking(LoUs) issued illegally and in an unauthorized way through few bank officials. At no stage such facilities were extended by our bank to the three partner firms," PNB said in its letter. PNB has accused Nirav Modi of defrauding the bank of Rs 11,300 crores since 2011 with the help of bank officials who have since been arrested. "When these illegal activities surfaced, they pointed out towards apparent violation of Foreign Exchange Regulation Act(FEMA) and money laundering aspect, the state bank said, adding,"As required by law, the bank was compelled to bring there activities to the notice of law and enforcement agencies which the bank did." "Your commitment and undertaking for sparing of the total liability was not backed by providing upfront amounts and timelines. However, should you have any concrete and implementable plan, do revert back.” The Enforcement Directorate meanwhile continued to crackdown on Nirav Modi's assets in the country. In addition to freezing shares and mutual funds worth Rs 94 crore belonging to Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi, it also seized a number of luxury cars belonging to the duo. In what could be the biggest banking fraud in India, state-owned Punjab National Bank has said it has detected a US $1.77 billion scam and billionaire jeweller Nirav Modi is at the centre of it. (WION Web Team) ×

'You were getting LoUs issued illegally,' says PNB in letter to Nirav Modi

The government is expected to propose a change to the Swift system -- the&nbsp;global payments network that PNB officials gamed to issue Letters of Understanding (LoUs) to Nirav Modi. Modi had got his bank loans on the basis of the LoUs.&nbsp;

The government is expected to decree that a report of the day&#39;s Swift messages is to be generated at the end of every day, and that one officer other than the two officials who check&nbsp;and authorise the messages are to verify them and place them before the branch head.

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ED seized 9 cars belonging to <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NiravMod?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NiravMod</a> and his companies. These cars include one Rolls Royce Ghost, two Mercedes Benz GL 350 CDIs, one Porsche Panamera, 3 Honda cars, one Toyota Fortuner and one Toyota Innova. <a href="https://t.co/Kfx0rkPrIW">pic.twitter.com/Kfx0rkPrIW</a>
&mdash; ANI (@ANI) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI/status/966540055337676800?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 22, 2018</a></blockquote>
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The Enforcement Directorate meanwhile continued its crackdown on tainted diamond czar Nirav Modi. In addition to freezing shares and mutual funds&nbsp;worth Rs 94 crore belonging to Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi, it also seized a number of luxury cars belonging to the duo. &nbsp;&nbsp;

In total, ED froze mutual funds and shares worth Rs 7.80 crore belonging to Nirav Modi and MF and shares worth Rs 86.72 crore owned by Mehul Choksi.&nbsp;

The investigative agency also seized nine cars belonging to Nirav Modi and his companies. The seized cars include one Rolls Royce Ghost, two Mercedes Benz models GL 350 CDI, one Porsche Panameras, 3 Honda cars, one Toyota Fortuners and one Toyota Innova.

Some precious paintings belonging to Modi including the works of Francis Souza, Amrita Sher-Gil, VS Gaitonde, Akbar Padamsee, Bharti Kher and MF Husain have also been seized. &nbsp;ED is evaluating the authenticity of these paintings.&nbsp;

Meanwhile, Modi and Choksi have asked their employees to look for new jobs. Choksi&#39;s Gitanjali Gems has handed over pink slips to five thousand employees, reported Zee Business.

Nirav Modi too has reportedly written to his employees to look for another job. He is said to have told his employees that the future is unsure and thus they should explore other avenues.

The ED and the Income Tax department have zeroed in on about 200 dummy or shell companies in India and abroad that were being used to route or receive funds as part of the alleged fraud.

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ED also froze mutual funds and shares worth Rs 7.80 Crore of <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NiravModi?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NiravModi</a> and worth Rs 86.72 crore of those belonging to <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MehulChoksi?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MehulChoksi</a> Group.
&mdash; ANI (@ANI) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI/status/966529433849999360?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 22, 2018</a></blockquote>
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Modi, Choksi and others are being investigated by multiple probe agencies after it recently came to light, following a complaint by the PNB, that they allegedly cheated the nationalised bank to the tune of Rs 11,400 crore, with the purported involvement of a few employees of the bank. The CBI and the ED have registered two FIRs each to probe the case.

 
Vipul Ambani laundered money?

Meanwhile, it&#39;s reliably learned that Vipul Ambani was not just Chief Financial Officer (CFO), he was also the director of eight companies. &nbsp;

&nbsp;Agency sources inform that during the interrogation, Vipul Ambani disclosed details of the companies where he is director/managing director along with his wife Preeti Ambani and others.&nbsp;

 
The details of the companies are:&nbsp; 
&nbsp; 
1.Pratibhuti Holdings Private Limited 
2.Tower Capital And Securities Private Limited&nbsp; 
3. Contango Trading &amp; Commodity Private Limited 
4. Tower Corporate Financial Services Private Limited 
5. Tower Capital Advisors Private Limited 
6. Tower Commodities And Derivatives Private Limited 
7. Tower Capital And Financial Services Private Limited 
8. Unitis Tower Wealth Advisors Private Limited 
&nbsp; 
Agencies suspect that Ambani knew all inside trade of Nirav Modi and company as a CFO and diverted the earned income into companies owned by him. Agencies investigating if these companies were used as a mean for money laundering. If found to be true, there could be more trouble for him in future with other agencies swinging into action against him soon.

Gili director&#39;s residence sealed&nbsp;

The ED on Wednesday sealed the residence of Gili India Limited director Aniyath Shivraman at Kalyan in Maharashtra`s Thane district.&nbsp;

The ED also seized several important documents related to the Punjab National Bank.

The Swift system is the global payments network that PNB officials gamed to issue Letters of Understanding (LoUs) to Nirav Modi. Modi had got his bank loans on the basis of the LoUs

The government is expected to propose a change to the Swift system -- the global payments network that PNB officials gamed to issue Letters of Understanding (LoUs) to Nirav Modi. Modi had got his bank loans on the basis of the LoUs. The government is expected to decree that a report of the day's Swift messages is to be generated at the end of every day, and that one officer other than the two officials who check and authorise the messages are to verify them and place them before the branch head. ED seized 9 cars belonging to #NiravMod and his companies. These cars include one Rolls Royce Ghost, two Mercedes Benz GL 350 CDIs, one Porsche Panamera, 3 Honda cars, one Toyota Fortuner and one Toyota Innova. pic.twitter.com/Kfx0rkPrIW — ANI (@ANI) February 22, 2018 × The Enforcement Directorate meanwhile continued its crackdown on tainted diamond czar Nirav Modi. In addition to freezing shares and mutual funds worth Rs 94 crore belonging to Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi, it also seized a number of luxury cars belonging to the duo. In total, ED froze mutual funds and shares worth Rs 7.80 crore belonging to Nirav Modi and MF and shares worth Rs 86.72 crore owned by Mehul Choksi. The investigative agency also seized nine cars belonging to Nirav Modi and his companies. The seized cars include one Rolls Royce Ghost, two Mercedes Benz models GL 350 CDI, one Porsche Panameras, 3 Honda cars, one Toyota Fortuners and one Toyota Innova. Some precious paintings belonging to Modi including the works of Francis Souza, Amrita Sher-Gil, VS Gaitonde, Akbar Padamsee, Bharti Kher and MF Husain have also been seized. ED is evaluating the authenticity of these paintings. Meanwhile, Modi and Choksi have asked their employees to look for new jobs. Choksi's Gitanjali Gems has handed over pink slips to five thousand employees, reported Zee Business. Nirav Modi too has reportedly written to his employees to look for another job. He is said to have told his employees that the future is unsure and thus they should explore other avenues. The ED and the Income Tax department have zeroed in on about 200 dummy or shell companies in India and abroad that were being used to route or receive funds as part of the alleged fraud. ED also froze mutual funds and shares worth Rs 7.80 Crore of #NiravModi and worth Rs 86.72 crore of those belonging to #MehulChoksi Group. — ANI (@ANI) February 22, 2018 × Modi, Choksi and others are being investigated by multiple probe agencies after it recently came to light, following a complaint by the PNB, that they allegedly cheated the nationalised bank to the tune of Rs 11,400 crore, with the purported involvement of a few employees of the bank. The CBI and the ED have registered two FIRs each to probe the case. Vipul Ambani laundered money? Meanwhile, it's reliably learned that Vipul Ambani was not just Chief Financial Officer (CFO), he was also the director of eight companies. Agency sources inform that during the interrogation, Vipul Ambani disclosed details of the companies where he is director/managing director along with his wife Preeti Ambani and others. The details of the companies are: 1.Pratibhuti Holdings Private Limited 2.Tower Capital And Securities Private Limited 3. Contango Trading & Commodity Private Limited 4. Tower Corporate Financial Services Private Limited 5. Tower Capital Advisors Private Limited 6. Tower Commodities And Derivatives Private Limited 7. Tower Capital And Financial Services Private Limited 8. Unitis Tower Wealth Advisors Private Limited Agencies suspect that Ambani knew all inside trade of Nirav Modi and company as a CFO and diverted the earned income into companies owned by him. Agencies investigating if these companies were used as a mean for money laundering. If found to be true, there could be more trouble for him in future with other agencies swinging into action against him soon. Gili director's residence sealed The ED on Wednesday sealed the residence of Gili India Limited director Aniyath Shivraman at Kalyan in Maharashtra`s Thane district. The ED also seized several important documents related to the Punjab National Bank.

PNB scam: Government to propose change to Swift system; ED seizes Nirav Modi, Mehul Choksi stocks worth Rs 94 crore

More than 18 thousand employees of Punjab National Bank have been transferred in under one week as per Central Vigilance Commission&#39;s directive.

CVC&#39;s order comes in the wake of the ongoing investigations in the Rs 11,400 crore PNB scam involving Nirav Modi, Mehul Choksi among others.

CVC&#39;s order is to be complied with by all public sector banks and calls for all banking officials, employed for at least three years, to be transferred.&nbsp;

The Commission on Monday issued an advisory to all the public sector banks ordering them to transfer the officers who have completed three years as on December 31, 2017.&nbsp;

All clerical staff who have completed five years as on December 31, 2017 &quot;should be transferred immediately&quot;.&nbsp;

&quot;As per Central Vigilance Commission guidelines, all officers should be rotated every 3 years. Further, as per Bank&#39;s Transfer Policy for Officers, no officer should be retained in the same post for a period in excess of 3 years and in the same station (municipal limits) for a period in excess of 5 years,&quot; said a BOI office memorandum.&nbsp;

Meanwhile, the CBI has already arrested five Punjab National Bank officials including Gokulnath Shetty, a former Deputy Manager and Manoj Kharat, Single Window Operator.

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<h5>Shetty is known to have issued LoUs at a frantic pace for at least 6 years before he retired in May 2017 after his long tenure at PNB&#39;S Mumbai Brady House branch.&nbsp;</h5>
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Three officers at PNB&#39;s MCB Brady House branch in Mumbai, who were arrested on Monday, were yesterday sent to police custody until March 3. They are Bechhu Tiwari, Chief Manager in charge of Forex department; Yashwant Joshi, Scale II, Manager Forex department; and Praful Sawant, Scale I Officer Export.

It must be noted that Shetty, the retired deputy manager of Punjab National Bank (PNB) arrested on Saturday, figures at the centre of the scam for defrauding the public sector bank.&nbsp;

Shetty is alleged to have helped Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi by issuing scores of letters of undertaking (LoUs).&nbsp;

PNB previously shared that close 143 LoUs were issued in 63 days, starting March 1, 2017. Around 150 LoUs were issued since 2011.&nbsp;

Shetty is known to have issued LoUs at a frantic pace for at least 6 years before he retired in May 2017 after his long tenure at PNB&#39;S Mumbai Brady House branch.&nbsp;

<iframe allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/uuFU3JdlFMk" width="560"></iframe>

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley yesterday called out to the auditors, senior banking officials, chartered accountants and supervisory agencies &quot;to introspect&quot; and identify the loopholes and shortcomings in the Indian banking sector that led to such a massive fraud.&nbsp;

The Finance Minister decried a &quot;lack of ethics&quot; among sections of Indian business on Tuesday and criticised inadequate oversight by auditors and regulators after the financial sector was rocked by the $1.8 billion fraud.

&quot;When authority is given to the management then you are expected to utilize authority effectively and in the right manner. Therefore, the question for management here is if they were found lacking, on the face of it seems they were,&quot; Jaitley noted.&nbsp;

&quot;Also what were the auditors doing? If both internal and external auditors have looked other way and failed to detect then I think CA professionals must introspect. Supervisory agencies also must introspect what are the additional mechanisms they have to put in place,&quot; he added further.&nbsp;

CVC's order comes in the wake of the ongoing investigations in the Rs 11,400 crore PNB scam

More than 18 thousand employees of Punjab National Bank have been transferred in under one week as per Central Vigilance Commission's directive. CVC's order comes in the wake of the ongoing investigations in the Rs 11,400 crore PNB scam involving Nirav Modi, Mehul Choksi among others. CVC's order is to be complied with by all public sector banks and calls for all banking officials, employed for at least three years, to be transferred. The Commission on Monday issued an advisory to all the public sector banks ordering them to transfer the officers who have completed three years as on December 31, 2017. All clerical staff who have completed five years as on December 31, 2017 "should be transferred immediately". "As per Central Vigilance Commission guidelines, all officers should be rotated every 3 years. Further, as per Bank's Transfer Policy for Officers, no officer should be retained in the same post for a period in excess of 3 years and in the same station (municipal limits) for a period in excess of 5 years," said a BOI office memorandum. Meanwhile, the CBI has already arrested five Punjab National Bank officials including Gokulnath Shetty, a former Deputy Manager and Manoj Kharat, Single Window Operator. Shetty is known to have issued LoUs at a frantic pace for at least 6 years before he retired in May 2017 after his long tenure at PNB'S Mumbai Brady House branch. × Three officers at PNB's MCB Brady House branch in Mumbai, who were arrested on Monday, were yesterday sent to police custody until March 3. They are Bechhu Tiwari, Chief Manager in charge of Forex department; Yashwant Joshi, Scale II, Manager Forex department; and Praful Sawant, Scale I Officer Export. It must be noted that Shetty, the retired deputy manager of Punjab National Bank (PNB) arrested on Saturday, figures at the centre of the scam for defrauding the public sector bank. Shetty is alleged to have helped Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi by issuing scores of letters of undertaking (LoUs). PNB previously shared that close 143 LoUs were issued in 63 days, starting March 1, 2017. Around 150 LoUs were issued since 2011. Shetty is known to have issued LoUs at a frantic pace for at least 6 years before he retired in May 2017 after his long tenure at PNB'S Mumbai Brady House branch. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley yesterday called out to the auditors, senior banking officials, chartered accountants and supervisory agencies "to introspect" and identify the loopholes and shortcomings in the Indian banking sector that led to such a massive fraud. The Finance Minister decried a "lack of ethics" among sections of Indian business on Tuesday and criticised inadequate oversight by auditors and regulators after the financial sector was rocked by the $1.8 billion fraud. "When authority is given to the management then you are expected to utilize authority effectively and in the right manner. Therefore, the question for management here is if they were found lacking, on the face of it seems they were," Jaitley noted. "Also what were the auditors doing? If both internal and external auditors have looked other way and failed to detect then I think CA professionals must introspect. Supervisory agencies also must introspect what are the additional mechanisms they have to put in place," he added further.

Post-scam, PNB transfers nearly 18,000 employees after CVC rap

The Centre on Wednesday opposed a public interest litigation (PIL) saying that an FIR had already been filed in the case.&nbsp;

The PIL asked for an investigation into PNB&#39;s top management involved in the mega scam. The PIL also sought the extradition of diamond trader Nirav Modi.

Attorney General K.K. Venugopal opposed the PIL filed by lawyer Vineet Dhandha. Venugopal urged the bench, headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra, Justice A.M. Khanwilkar and Justice D.Y. Chandrachud, to issue a notice to the Centre.

&quot;It is a publicity-oriented litigation. You have to make averment that the government is not investigating. We must allow the government to investigate. These are the petitions playing to the gallery. Let us not pre-empt the jurisdiction of the government (to investigate a scam),&quot; Justice Chandrachud said.

 
&nbsp;

The PIL asked for an investigation into PNB's top management involved in the mega scam

The Centre on Wednesday opposed a public interest litigation (PIL) saying that an FIR had already been filed in the case. The PIL asked for an investigation into PNB's top management involved in the mega scam. The PIL also sought the extradition of diamond trader Nirav Modi. Attorney General K.K. Venugopal opposed the PIL filed by lawyer Vineet Dhandha. Venugopal urged the bench, headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra, Justice A.M. Khanwilkar and Justice D.Y. Chandrachud, to issue a notice to the Centre. "It is a publicity-oriented litigation. You have to make averment that the government is not investigating. We must allow the government to investigate. These are the petitions playing to the gallery. Let us not pre-empt the jurisdiction of the government (to investigate a scam)," Justice Chandrachud said.

PNB fraud: Centre opposes PIL in Supreme Court, says probe already on

Breaking his silence over the Rs 11,400 crore fraud at India&#39;s second-biggest bank, PNB, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley today said the state will chase down cheaters to the end even as he took the management of the lender to task for its failure to check the delinquents.

Without naming either the alleged kingpin of the fraud, billionaire jeweller Nirav Modi, or Punjab National Bank, Jaitley questioned the ethics of some businesses in the country and asked as to why the bank&#39;s internal and external auditors could not detect the fraud which had been going on for 7 long years.

&quot;It is incumbent on us as a state, till the last legitimate capacity of the state, to chase these people (fraudsters) to the last possible conclusion to make sure the country is not cheated,&quot; he said addressing the annual meeting of Association of Development Financial Institutions in Asia &amp; Pacific (ADFIAP) here.

Also read: <a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/cbi-arrests-former-head-of-pnbs-brady-house-mumbai-branch-33561" target="_blank">CBI arrests former head of PNB&#39;s Brady House branch</a>

Modi, whose diamond creations have draped Hollywood stars such as Kate Winslet and Dakota Johnson, and firms linked to him are alleged to have acquired fraudulent letters of undertaking (LoUs) from one PNB branch in Mumbai between 2011 and 2017 to obtain loans from Indian banks overseas. Investigative agencies have raided Modi&#39;s properties and arrested bank employees.

Jaitley said the government had been step by step addressing issues like high-level of bad debts and need for more capital, but the effort has been put to challenge with the unravelling of the fraud.

He reminded the public sector banks that Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave managements the autonomy they needed with none from the government calling.

&quot;When authority is given to the managements you are expected to utilise that authority effectively and in a right manner. Therefore the question for the management itself is were they found lacking? And on the face of it the answer seems yes they were,&quot; he said.

The lenders, he said, were &quot;unable to check who amongst them were delinquent&quot;. He went on to ask what the auditors were doing.

&quot;Both internal and external auditors really have looked the other way or failed to detect,&quot; he said.

Chartered accountants and those who control the discipline, should start introspection and &quot;say what legitimate actions are to be taken&quot;, he said.

&quot;And also there is an important challenge where the supervisory agencies are now to introspect as what are the additional mechanisms they have to put in place to ensure that stray cases don&#39;t become a pattern again,&quot; he said. &quot;And stray cases are nipped in the bud and an example be made out of people that these bad examples itself are never to be repeated.&quot;

Jaitley said frauds have a cost to the country as well as to the tax payer.

&quot;It&#39;s a direct cost and it has an indirect cost that it impinges on development, which impinges on the lending capacity of banks as an institution and therefore impinges upon developmental finance,&quot; he said.

On the banking sector, the Finance Minister said financing for trade and businesses increases when banks have the ability to lend.

This ability over the past few years has faced challenges in increased bad debt or NPAs. &quot;One of the direct consequences of this was that the ability of the state to spend and lend even for developmental activities itself will get curtailed,&quot; he said.

After struggling to find solution, the government &quot;finally hit upon the right point through the insolvency and bankruptcy code&quot; that provides for recovery of due amounts through sale of assets of defaulters.

Jaitley said initial response to the Code has been encouraging.

Also, he said, government is infusing an unprecedented Rs 2.11 lakh crore capital in the banks.

&quot;That decision itself as some of my friends in Parliament described also had moral issues because at the end of the day when NPAs become unacceptably high, you expect the taxpayer really to fund what unprincipled sections of the industry have been able to take out,&quot; he said.

Stating that though there is a moral hazard in that kind of solution, he said there was no other option and government had to take that difficult course itself.

&quot;As it seems, situation appeared to be coming on track (but) you have now again emerging challenges,&quot; he said. &quot;Therefore these emerging challenges eventually all strike at one of the big purposes, which is development and growth and the need for developmental banks itself. And the need for the increasing the capacity of the developmental finance itself. Any such system of banking really functions on trust.&quot;

That trust is inherent in the lender-creditor relationship. &quot;I think that relationship in India blurred itself out when a section, not so ethical a section perhaps thought that it was not its responsibility to pay back. And therefore we had to come back with hard solutions,&quot; he added.&nbsp;

'It is incumbent on us as a state, till the last legitimate capacity of the state, to chase these people (fraudsters) to the last possible conclusion to make sure the country is not cheated,' Jaitley said

Breaking his silence over the Rs 11,400 crore fraud at India's second-biggest bank, PNB, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley today said the state will chase down cheaters to the end even as he took the management of the lender to task for its failure to check the delinquents. Without naming either the alleged kingpin of the fraud, billionaire jeweller Nirav Modi, or Punjab National Bank, Jaitley questioned the ethics of some businesses in the country and asked as to why the bank's internal and external auditors could not detect the fraud which had been going on for 7 long years. "It is incumbent on us as a state, till the last legitimate capacity of the state, to chase these people (fraudsters) to the last possible conclusion to make sure the country is not cheated," he said addressing the annual meeting of Association of Development Financial Institutions in Asia & Pacific (ADFIAP) here. Also read: CBI arrests former head of PNB's Brady House branch Modi, whose diamond creations have draped Hollywood stars such as Kate Winslet and Dakota Johnson, and firms linked to him are alleged to have acquired fraudulent letters of undertaking (LoUs) from one PNB branch in Mumbai between 2011 and 2017 to obtain loans from Indian banks overseas. Investigative agencies have raided Modi's properties and arrested bank employees. Jaitley said the government had been step by step addressing issues like high-level of bad debts and need for more capital, but the effort has been put to challenge with the unravelling of the fraud. He reminded the public sector banks that Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave managements the autonomy they needed with none from the government calling. "When authority is given to the managements you are expected to utilise that authority effectively and in a right manner. Therefore the question for the management itself is were they found lacking? And on the face of it the answer seems yes they were," he said. The lenders, he said, were "unable to check who amongst them were delinquent". He went on to ask what the auditors were doing. "Both internal and external auditors really have looked the other way or failed to detect," he said. Chartered accountants and those who control the discipline, should start introspection and "say what legitimate actions are to be taken", he said. "And also there is an important challenge where the supervisory agencies are now to introspect as what are the additional mechanisms they have to put in place to ensure that stray cases don't become a pattern again," he said. "And stray cases are nipped in the bud and an example be made out of people that these bad examples itself are never to be repeated." Jaitley said frauds have a cost to the country as well as to the tax payer. "It's a direct cost and it has an indirect cost that it impinges on development, which impinges on the lending capacity of banks as an institution and therefore impinges upon developmental finance," he said. On the banking sector, the Finance Minister said financing for trade and businesses increases when banks have the ability to lend. This ability over the past few years has faced challenges in increased bad debt or NPAs. "One of the direct consequences of this was that the ability of the state to spend and lend even for developmental activities itself will get curtailed," he said. After struggling to find solution, the government "finally hit upon the right point through the insolvency and bankruptcy code" that provides for recovery of due amounts through sale of assets of defaulters. Jaitley said initial response to the Code has been encouraging. Also, he said, government is infusing an unprecedented Rs 2.11 lakh crore capital in the banks. "That decision itself as some of my friends in Parliament described also had moral issues because at the end of the day when NPAs become unacceptably high, you expect the taxpayer really to fund what unprincipled sections of the industry have been able to take out," he said. Stating that though there is a moral hazard in that kind of solution, he said there was no other option and government had to take that difficult course itself. "As it seems, situation appeared to be coming on track (but) you have now again emerging challenges," he said. "Therefore these emerging challenges eventually all strike at one of the big purposes, which is development and growth and the need for developmental banks itself. And the need for the increasing the capacity of the developmental finance itself. Any such system of banking really functions on trust." That trust is inherent in the lender-creditor relationship. "I think that relationship in India blurred itself out when a section, not so ethical a section perhaps thought that it was not its responsibility to pay back. And therefore we had to come back with hard solutions," he added.

Will chase PNB fraudster to the end, says Jaitley. Blames bank management for scam

The Central Bureau of Investigation has arrested a General Manager rank officer of Punjab National Bank in the alleged Rs 11,400 crore scam, officials said.

Rajesh Jindal, posted at the bank&#39;s head office New Delhi, has been arrested in connection with the fraud involving billionaire jewellers Nirav Modi and his uncle Mehul Choksi, officials said.

Rajesh Jindal, who was the head of the Brady House, Mumbai branch of the bank during 2009-11, was taken into custody last night (February 20), officials said.

It is alleged that the issuance of Letters of Undertaking (LOUs) to Nirav Modi group firms without sanctioned limits started during his tenure.

Rajesh Jindal is presently posted as GM, Credit, PNB Head Office in the national capital.

On Tuesday, the CBI made a<a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/pnb-scam-cbi-tightens-noose-on-gitanjali-group-and-others-arrests-officials-33533"> slew of arrests </a>of officials from the Gitanjali Group and Firestar International Group.

Vipul Ambani, President of Finance, Firestar International group; Arjun Patil, Senior Executive, Firestar group; Kapil Khandelwal, CFO, Nakshatra group and Gitanjali group; Niten Shahi, Manager, Gitanjali group and Kavita Mankikar, Authorised Signatory of three accused firms -- Diamond R US, Stellar Diamond, Solar Exports -- were were arrested yesterday.&nbsp;

Besides this, three officers at PNB&#39;s MCB Brady House branch in Mumbai, who were arrested on Monday, were yesterday<a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/pnb-fraud-cbi-sends-3-accused-pnb-officials-to-police-custody-33516"> sent to police custody </a>until March 3. They are Bechhu Tiwari, Chief Manager in charge of Forex department; Yashwant Joshi, Scale II, Manager Forex department; and Praful Sawant, Scale I Officer Export.

The CBI has already arrested five Punjab National Bank officials including Gokulnath Shetty, a a former Deputy Manager &nbsp;and Manoj Kharat, Single Window Operator.

The CBI has registered two cases in the scam involving billionaire Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi. These relate to fraudulent issuance of 150 Letters of Undertaking (LoU) (a kind of bank guarantee) worth Rs 6,498 crore and 143 LoUs worth Rs 4,886 crore. The Enforcement Directorate has also registered two separate cases to probe money laundering allegations against Choksi and Modi.

The scam started in 2011 and was detected in the third week of January this year.&nbsp; 
 
(With inputs from PTI)

Rajesh Jindal, posted at the bank's head office New Delhi, has been arrested in connection with the fraud involving billionaire jewellers Nirav Modi and his uncle Mehul Choksi, officials said

The Central Bureau of Investigation has arrested a General Manager rank officer of Punjab National Bank in the alleged Rs 11,400 crore scam, officials said. Rajesh Jindal, posted at the bank's head office New Delhi, has been arrested in connection with the fraud involving billionaire jewellers Nirav Modi and his uncle Mehul Choksi, officials said. Rajesh Jindal, who was the head of the Brady House, Mumbai branch of the bank during 2009-11, was taken into custody last night (February 20), officials said. It is alleged that the issuance of Letters of Undertaking (LOUs) to Nirav Modi group firms without sanctioned limits started during his tenure. Rajesh Jindal is presently posted as GM, Credit, PNB Head Office in the national capital. On Tuesday, the CBI made a slew of arrests of officials from the Gitanjali Group and Firestar International Group. Vipul Ambani, President of Finance, Firestar International group; Arjun Patil, Senior Executive, Firestar group; Kapil Khandelwal, CFO, Nakshatra group and Gitanjali group; Niten Shahi, Manager, Gitanjali group and Kavita Mankikar, Authorised Signatory of three accused firms -- Diamond R US, Stellar Diamond, Solar Exports -- were were arrested yesterday. Besides this, three officers at PNB's MCB Brady House branch in Mumbai, who were arrested on Monday, were yesterday sent to police custody until March 3. They are Bechhu Tiwari, Chief Manager in charge of Forex department; Yashwant Joshi, Scale II, Manager Forex department; and Praful Sawant, Scale I Officer Export. The CBI has already arrested five Punjab National Bank officials including Gokulnath Shetty, a a former Deputy Manager and Manoj Kharat, Single Window Operator. The CBI has registered two cases in the scam involving billionaire Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi. These relate to fraudulent issuance of 150 Letters of Undertaking (LoU) (a kind of bank guarantee) worth Rs 6,498 crore and 143 LoUs worth Rs 4,886 crore. The Enforcement Directorate has also registered two separate cases to probe money laundering allegations against Choksi and Modi. The scam started in 2011 and was detected in the third week of January this year. (With inputs from PTI)

PNB scam: CBI arrests former head of bank's Brady House branch

By Sanjay Singh

The name of a former highly-placed bank official has emerged during the interrogation of the accused in the Punjab National Bank scam, sources said.

Sources said that the former director-level officer of the PNB is likely to be questioned soon.

Five bank officials, including the two at the Mumbai branch, have been arrested in the scam worth Rs 11,400 crores and in which billionaire jewellery designer Nirav Modi is the main accused.

The bank official was director of the PNB few years back. Later he joined as chief managing director in another bank, the sources added.&nbsp;

It&#39;s not just PNB employees that are on the radar of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). Sources claim that the role of some employees of about 11 banks is also being investigated by the agency.

Also read:&nbsp;PNB scam: <a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/pnb-scam-3-hong-kong-companies-under-scanner-say-sources-33458">3 Hong Kong companies under scanner, say sources</a>

These banks include foreign branches of the Allahabad Bank, State Bank of India (SBI), Union Bank, UCO Bank and the Axis Bank.

The CBI suspects the connivance of some bank personnel employed at foreign branches of these Indian banks for remitted foreign currency upon presenting fraudulent LoUs (Letters of Undertaking) without cross checking or verifying the authenticity of LoUs with the PNB, for not following other standard operating procedures and for not raising alarm over fake LoUs.

The banks under the CBI scanner are the Mauritius and Frankfurt branches of the SBI, the Antwerp branch of the Bank of India, the Bahrain branch of the Canara Bank, the Hong Kong branch of the UCO Bank, the Allahabad bank and the Axis Bank.

The PNB in its internal inquiry gave clean chit to its auditors. However, the CBI suspects the crucial involvement of a person from their internal audit team and also the statutory audit team. Two charted accountants are also on agency&#39;s radar for their alleged involvement in the fraud.

Sources claim that the role of some employees of about 11 banks is also being investigated by the agency

By Sanjay Singh The name of a former highly-placed bank official has emerged during the interrogation of the accused in the Punjab National Bank scam, sources said. Sources said that the former director-level officer of the PNB is likely to be questioned soon. Five bank officials, including the two at the Mumbai branch, have been arrested in the scam worth Rs 11,400 crores and in which billionaire jewellery designer Nirav Modi is the main accused. The bank official was director of the PNB few years back. Later he joined as chief managing director in another bank, the sources added. It's not just PNB employees that are on the radar of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). Sources claim that the role of some employees of about 11 banks is also being investigated by the agency. Also read: PNB scam: 3 Hong Kong companies under scanner, say sources These banks include foreign branches of the Allahabad Bank, State Bank of India (SBI), Union Bank, UCO Bank and the Axis Bank. The CBI suspects the connivance of some bank personnel employed at foreign branches of these Indian banks for remitted foreign currency upon presenting fraudulent LoUs (Letters of Undertaking) without cross checking or verifying the authenticity of LoUs with the PNB, for not following other standard operating procedures and for not raising alarm over fake LoUs. The banks under the CBI scanner are the Mauritius and Frankfurt branches of the SBI, the Antwerp branch of the Bank of India, the Bahrain branch of the Canara Bank, the Hong Kong branch of the UCO Bank, the Allahabad bank and the Axis Bank. The PNB in its internal inquiry gave clean chit to its auditors. However, the CBI suspects the crucial involvement of a person from their internal audit team and also the statutory audit team. Two charted accountants are also on agency's radar for their alleged involvement in the fraud.

PNB scam: Former director may have been involved, say sources

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&#39;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&#39;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&#39;s company and ten from the Gitanjali Group were also questioned.&nbsp;

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CBI examined 10 <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/PNB?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#PNB</a> officials, including present Executive Director level officers quizzed.8 Executives of <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NiravModi?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NiravModi</a>&#39;s company and 10 <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Gitanjali?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Gitanjali</a> group officials also questioned: CBI
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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&#39;s Alibagh farm.&nbsp;

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CBI examined 10 <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/PNB?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#PNB</a> officials, including present Executive Director level officers quizzed.8 Executives of <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NiravModi?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NiravModi</a>&#39;s company and 10 <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Gitanjali?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Gitanjali</a> group officials also questioned: CBI
&mdash; ANI (@ANI) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI/status/965919551077736448?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 20, 2018</a></blockquote>
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Seven more properties of Mehul Choksi&#39;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.&nbsp;

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&rsquo;s vice-president (compliance) and a company secretary have resigned.&nbsp;

Punjab National Bank &quot;in view of fraudulent activities&quot; has asked Gitanjali Group companies to pay &quot;outstanding&quot; 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.&nbsp;

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. CBI examined 10 #PNB officials, including present Executive Director level officers quizzed.8 Executives of #NiravModi's company and 10 #Gitanjali group officials also questioned: CBI — ANI (@ANI) February 20, 2018 × 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. CBI examined 10 #PNB officials, including present Executive Director level officers quizzed.8 Executives of #NiravModi's company and 10 #Gitanjali group officials also questioned: CBI — ANI (@ANI) February 20, 2018 × 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.

PNB fraud: CBI court sends 3 accused PNB officials to police custody

The Income <a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/cbi-registers-case-against-rotomac-directors-for-cheating-seven-banks-33364">Tax Department has attached 14 bank</a> accounts of Rotomac which belong to various banks&nbsp;as the CBI grilled the owner Vikram Kothari today.

Reports said three accounts belong to Vikram Kothari and his family.

The Kanpur-based group is being probed by the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate in connection with an alleged bank loan fraud of Rs 3,695 crore, given by a consortium of seven banks.&nbsp;

The CBI had registered a criminal case against Rotomac, its Director Vikram Kothari, his wife Sadhana Kothari and son Rahul Kothari and unidentified bank officials on a complaint received from Bank of Baroda and conducted raids against them on Monday.&nbsp;

The raids continued today with the agency sealing a residential premises and an office of Rotomac directors in New Delhi.

The raids continued today with the agency sealing a residential premises and an office of Rotomac directors in New Delhi.

The Income Tax Department has attached 14 bank accounts of Rotomac which belong to various banks as the CBI grilled the owner Vikram Kothari today. Reports said three accounts belong to Vikram Kothari and his family. The Kanpur-based group is being probed by the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate in connection with an alleged bank loan fraud of Rs 3,695 crore, given by a consortium of seven banks. The CBI had registered a criminal case against Rotomac, its Director Vikram Kothari, his wife Sadhana Kothari and son Rahul Kothari and unidentified bank officials on a complaint received from Bank of Baroda and conducted raids against them on Monday. The raids continued today with the agency sealing a residential premises and an office of Rotomac directors in New Delhi.

CBI questions Rotomac owner Vikram Kothari, freezes 14 bank accounts

Indian agencies, the Zee Group has learnt, are scrutinising at least three companies and their directors in Hong Kong, to try and verify if the companies are genuine overseas importers or part of the network of shell companies that Nirav Modi used to carry out his scam.&nbsp;

Sources told the Zee Group that Nirav Modi&#39;s firms Solar Exports and Diamonds 4 US imported diamonds from a few Hong Kong-based companies. The firms received hundreds of crores of rupees on the basis of Letters of Understanding (LoU) issued by Punjab National Bank. The Hong Kong branches of Allahabad Bank and Axis Bank made the payments to &nbsp;the firms.&nbsp;

The three firms. the sources said, are Aura Gems, Sino Traders, and Sunshine Gems. All three of them are based out of Hong Kong.&nbsp;

Also read: <a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/pnbs-overzealousness-shut-the-doors-on-ability-to-clear-the-dues-nirav-modi-33415" target="_blank">PNB&#39;s &#39;overzealousness&#39; shut door on ability to clear dues, Nirav Modi said in letter to bank</a>

Also read: <a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/full-text-of-nirav-modis-letter-to-pnb-33448" target="_blank">Full text of Nirav Modi&#39;s letter to PNB</a>

Over the last one year, Nirav Modi had allegedly started transferring his money through multiple layers, while making transactions at inflated prices. Some of those transactions are thought to have been with fictitious companies which are now being scrutinised by the agencies.&nbsp; 
&nbsp; 
The agencies are closely monitoring transactions between India and five countries &mdash;&nbsp;the US, UK, Singapore, Malaysia, and China. 
&nbsp; 
The agencies suspect funds were routed to different cities worldwide.&nbsp;The&nbsp;funds were first transferred from India to Macau, Hong Kong, Beijing, Singapore, and Kuala Lumpur. They were then transferred to London. &nbsp;And from London, the funds were moved to Hawaii, Las Vegas, and New York before being moving to Modi&#39;s Swiss accounts. 
&nbsp; 
Sometime in December 2017, somebody from PNB &mdash; other than the two&nbsp;main accused &mdash; tipped Nirav Modi off about the meeting held by top PNB officials and that a complaint was to be filed with the CBI.

Indian agencies are trying to verify if the companies are genuine overseas exporters or part of the network of shell companies Nirav Modi used to carry out his scam

Indian agencies, the Zee Group has learnt, are scrutinising at least three companies and their directors in Hong Kong, to try and verify if the companies are genuine overseas importers or part of the network of shell companies that Nirav Modi used to carry out his scam. Sources told the Zee Group that Nirav Modi's firms Solar Exports and Diamonds 4 US imported diamonds from a few Hong Kong-based companies. The firms received hundreds of crores of rupees on the basis of Letters of Understanding (LoU) issued by Punjab National Bank. The Hong Kong branches of Allahabad Bank and Axis Bank made the payments to the firms. The three firms. the sources said, are Aura Gems, Sino Traders, and Sunshine Gems. All three of them are based out of Hong Kong. Also read: PNB's 'overzealousness' shut door on ability to clear dues, Nirav Modi said in letter to bank Also read: Full text of Nirav Modi's letter to PNB Over the last one year, Nirav Modi had allegedly started transferring his money through multiple layers, while making transactions at inflated prices. Some of those transactions are thought to have been with fictitious companies which are now being scrutinised by the agencies. The agencies are closely monitoring transactions between India and five countries — the US, UK, Singapore, Malaysia, and China. The agencies suspect funds were routed to different cities worldwide. The funds were first transferred from India to Macau, Hong Kong, Beijing, Singapore, and Kuala Lumpur. They were then transferred to London. And from London, the funds were moved to Hawaii, Las Vegas, and New York before being moving to Modi's Swiss accounts. Sometime in December 2017, somebody from PNB — other than the two main accused — tipped Nirav Modi off about the meeting held by top PNB officials and that a complaint was to be filed with the CBI.

PNB scam: 3 Hong Kong companies under scanner, say sources

In its ongoing investigation into the PNB 1.77 billion dollar fraud, the CBI today made a host of arrests of officials from the Gitanjali Group and Firestar International Group.

Vipul Ambani, President of Finance, Firestar International group; Arjun Patil, Senior Executive, Firestar group; Kapil Khandelwal, CFO, Nakshatra group and Gitanjali group; Niten Shahi, Manager, Gitanjali group and Kavita Mankikar, Authorised Signatory of three accused firms were the ones who were arrested today.&nbsp;

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CBI arrested Vipul Ambani, President, Finance,Firestar International/diamonds group,Kavita Mankikar, Authorised Signatory of 3 accused firms,Arjun Patil, Sr. Executive, Firestar group, Kapil Khandelwal, CFO, Nakshatra group &amp;Niten Shahi, Manager, Gitanjali
&mdash; ANI (@ANI) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI/status/965969343476584448?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 20, 2018</a></blockquote>
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Besides this, three officers at PNB&#39;s MCB Brady House branch, who were arrested yesterday, were sent to police custody today until March 3.

As many as ten PNB officials, including present Executive Director level officers, were quizzed by the CBI earlier today. Eight executives from Nirav Modi&#39;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&#39;s Alibagh farm.&nbsp;

Three officers at PNB's MCB Brady House branch, who were arrested yesterday, were sent to police custody today

In its ongoing investigation into the PNB 1.77 billion dollar fraud, the CBI today made a host of arrests of officials from the Gitanjali Group and Firestar International Group. Vipul Ambani, President of Finance, Firestar International group; Arjun Patil, Senior Executive, Firestar group; Kapil Khandelwal, CFO, Nakshatra group and Gitanjali group; Niten Shahi, Manager, Gitanjali group and Kavita Mankikar, Authorised Signatory of three accused firms were the ones who were arrested today. CBI arrested Vipul Ambani, President, Finance,Firestar International/diamonds group,Kavita Mankikar, Authorised Signatory of 3 accused firms,Arjun Patil, Sr. Executive, Firestar group, Kapil Khandelwal, CFO, Nakshatra group &Niten Shahi, Manager, Gitanjali — ANI (@ANI) February 20, 2018 × Besides this, three officers at PNB's MCB Brady House branch, who were arrested yesterday, were sent to police custody today until March 3. 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.

PNB scam: CBI tightens noose, arrests Vipul Ambani and 4 others

The CBI has refused to share details of expenses incurred to bring back to India fugitive businessmen Lalit Modi and <a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/vijay-mallyas-weekly-living-allowance-increased-from-rs-45-lakh-to-16-lakh-32800">Vijay Mallya</a>, claiming immunity from disclosures under the RTI Act.

Pune-based activist Vihar Dhurve had approached the agency seeking details of expenses incurred by the government to bring back Mallya, wanted in India on charges of Rs 9,000-crore fraud and Modi, who is facing a money laundering probe.

Both Modi and Mallya have denied allegations of wrongdoings.

Mallya had fled the country in March, 2016 after the CBI diluted its lookout circular against him.

The agency has sent its team multiple times to London to pursue an extradition case against the embattled liquor tycoon.

The RTI application was forwarded to the CBI by the Finance Ministry. The agency transferred it to the Special Investigation Team looking after these cases.

In its response to the RTI plea, the CBI said it is exempt from making any disclosures under the RTI Act through a government notification of 2011.

According to Section 24 of the RTI Act, a few organisations are exempt under the transparency law.

However, the Delhi High Court had earlier underlined that organisations listed under Section 24 cannot claim exemption from disclosure if the information pertains to &quot;allegations of corruption and human rights violations&quot;.

The investigating agency claimed immunity from disclosures under the RTI Act

The CBI has refused to share details of expenses incurred to bring back to India fugitive businessmen Lalit Modi and Vijay Mallya, claiming immunity from disclosures under the RTI Act. Pune-based activist Vihar Dhurve had approached the agency seeking details of expenses incurred by the government to bring back Mallya, wanted in India on charges of Rs 9,000-crore fraud and Modi, who is facing a money laundering probe. Both Modi and Mallya have denied allegations of wrongdoings. Mallya had fled the country in March, 2016 after the CBI diluted its lookout circular against him. The agency has sent its team multiple times to London to pursue an extradition case against the embattled liquor tycoon. The RTI application was forwarded to the CBI by the Finance Ministry. The agency transferred it to the Special Investigation Team looking after these cases. In its response to the RTI plea, the CBI said it is exempt from making any disclosures under the RTI Act through a government notification of 2011. According to Section 24 of the RTI Act, a few organisations are exempt under the transparency law. However, the Delhi High Court had earlier underlined that organisations listed under Section 24 cannot claim exemption from disclosure if the information pertains to "allegations of corruption and human rights violations".

CBI refuses to disclose expenses incurred in trying to bring back Vijay Mallya, Lalit Modi

Throwing up his hands, beleaguered businessman Nirav Modi, the alleged kingpin of the largest banking scam in the country&#39;s history, has said PNB&#39;s &quot;overzealousness&quot; shut the doors on his ability to clear the dues.

He also said the dues were much less than what the bank has claimed, and that his relatives booked in the cases filed by the central agencies had nothing to do with the operations of the firms under their scanner.

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/full-text-of-nirav-modis-letter-to-pnb-33448">In a letter</a> Modi wrote on February 15/16 to the Punjab National Bank management, he pegged the money his companies owe to the bank under Rs 5,000 crore.

&quot;The erroneously cited liability resulted in a media frenzy which led to immediate search and seizure of operations, and which in turn resulted in Firestar International and Firestar Diamond International effectively ceasing to be going-concerns.

Also read: <a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/pnb-scam-7-more-properties-of-gitanjali-group-attached-3-pnb-officials-arrested-33408">7 more properties of Gitanjali Group attached, 3 PNB officials arrested&nbsp;</a>

&quot;This thereby jeopardised our ability to discharge the dues of the group to the banks,&quot; Modi, who left the country along with his family in the first week of January, before the alleged scam became public, wrote in the letter.

&quot;In the anxiety to recover your dues immediately, despite my offer (on February 13, a day before the public announcement, and on 15) your actions have destroyed my brand and the business and have now restricted your ability to recover all the dues leaving a trail of unpaid debts,&quot; he said.

Also read:<a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/pnb-scam-top-gitanjali-gems-officials-quit-33382"> Amid nationwide raids, top Gitanjali Gems officials quit&nbsp;</a>

The letter also refers to the extended discussions between him, and&nbsp;his representatives and the bank officers, besides his emails of February 13 and 15, 2018.

The PNB, the second largest state-run bank, had, on February 14, informed the exchanges about detecting US $1.77 billion fraud at its Brady House branch in Mumbai, and named the firms led by Modi and his uncle Mehul Choksi&#39;s Gitanjali Group, and some other diamond and jewellery merchants as suspects.

Also read:<a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/pnb-scam-investigations-at-mumbai-branch-continue-ed-probes-former-allahabad-bank-director-33371"> Investigations at Mumbai branch continue, ED probes former Allahabad Bank director</a>

Central government agencies - the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate - have registered cases on the complaint by the bank, and launched nationwide searches on dozens of offices and residences of the alleged fraudsters. The bank has named Modi&#39;s brother, his American wife Ami, and uncle Choksi besides some others in the FIR.

On the over Rs 11,000-crore loss claimed by the PNB in the FIR, Modi said, &quot;As you are aware, this is entirely incorrect and the liability of the Nirav Modi Group is substantially less. Even after your complaint was filed, in good faith I wrote to you saying please sell/allow me to sell Firestar Group, or their valuable assets, and recover the dues not just from Firestar Group, but also from the three firms.&quot;

Valuing his domestic business at around Rs 6,500 crore, he said, &quot;This could have helped reduce/discharge the debt to the banking system,&quot; but added that this is not possible as all his bank accounts have been frozen and assets sealed or seized.

He went on to state that PNB had time and again acknowledged that the buyers credit facility has been extended by it to the three partnership firms for several years, and that there has been no default on the part of any of these firms over all these years. He said that money went through PNB all these years for the repayments of the advances given by the overseas bank branches under the buyers credit.

&quot;That Firestar International and Firestar Diamond International have never been in default to any bank, and the bankers are fully secured&quot;. He also said that PNB has over the years been earning bank charges to the tune of crores of rupees on the buyers credit facility extended by PNB to the three partnership firms and that PNB has extended the money to the firm&#39;s buyers as well from where also it has been receiving full payments, with interest and on time all these years.

On the valuables that CBI/ED searches yielded Rs 5,649 crore, he said, &quot;These, and other assets of the group and the three firms could have settled all the amounts due to banks. However, now that stage appears to have passed.&quot;

He concluded by requesting the bank to &quot;be fair, and support my efforts to make good all the amounts that are found due by my group to all banks.&quot;

Owning up everything, he said the bank has wrongly named his brother, who is not at all concerned with the operations of the three firms or other companies. &quot;My wife is not connected with any business operations at all and she has been wrongly named. My uncle is also wrongly named in this complaint since he has an independent and unconnected business and none of them are aware or concerned with my dealings with your bank.&quot;

&quot;Whatever may be the consequences I may face for my actions, the haste was, in my humble submission, unwarranted,&quot; Modi concluded and requested the bank to permit him to pay the salaries to 2,200 employees from the balance lying in the current accounts of his firms.&nbsp;

In a letter Modi wrote to the bank, he added that his dues were smaller than what the bank has claimed

Throwing up his hands, beleaguered businessman Nirav Modi, the alleged kingpin of the largest banking scam in the country's history, has said PNB's "overzealousness" shut the doors on his ability to clear the dues. He also said the dues were much less than what the bank has claimed, and that his relatives booked in the cases filed by the central agencies had nothing to do with the operations of the firms under their scanner. In a letter Modi wrote on February 15/16 to the Punjab National Bank management, he pegged the money his companies owe to the bank under Rs 5,000 crore. "The erroneously cited liability resulted in a media frenzy which led to immediate search and seizure of operations, and which in turn resulted in Firestar International and Firestar Diamond International effectively ceasing to be going-concerns. Also read: 7 more properties of Gitanjali Group attached, 3 PNB officials arrested "This thereby jeopardised our ability to discharge the dues of the group to the banks," Modi, who left the country along with his family in the first week of January, before the alleged scam became public, wrote in the letter. "In the anxiety to recover your dues immediately, despite my offer (on February 13, a day before the public announcement, and on 15) your actions have destroyed my brand and the business and have now restricted your ability to recover all the dues leaving a trail of unpaid debts," he said. Also read: Amid nationwide raids, top Gitanjali Gems officials quit The letter also refers to the extended discussions between him, and his representatives and the bank officers, besides his emails of February 13 and 15, 2018. The PNB, the second largest state-run bank, had, on February 14, informed the exchanges about detecting US $1.77 billion fraud at its Brady House branch in Mumbai, and named the firms led by Modi and his uncle Mehul Choksi's Gitanjali Group, and some other diamond and jewellery merchants as suspects. Also read: Investigations at Mumbai branch continue, ED probes former Allahabad Bank director Central government agencies - the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate - have registered cases on the complaint by the bank, and launched nationwide searches on dozens of offices and residences of the alleged fraudsters. The bank has named Modi's brother, his American wife Ami, and uncle Choksi besides some others in the FIR. On the over Rs 11,000-crore loss claimed by the PNB in the FIR, Modi said, "As you are aware, this is entirely incorrect and the liability of the Nirav Modi Group is substantially less. Even after your complaint was filed, in good faith I wrote to you saying please sell/allow me to sell Firestar Group, or their valuable assets, and recover the dues not just from Firestar Group, but also from the three firms." Valuing his domestic business at around Rs 6,500 crore, he said, "This could have helped reduce/discharge the debt to the banking system," but added that this is not possible as all his bank accounts have been frozen and assets sealed or seized. He went on to state that PNB had time and again acknowledged that the buyers credit facility has been extended by it to the three partnership firms for several years, and that there has been no default on the part of any of these firms over all these years. He said that money went through PNB all these years for the repayments of the advances given by the overseas bank branches under the buyers credit. "That Firestar International and Firestar Diamond International have never been in default to any bank, and the bankers are fully secured". He also said that PNB has over the years been earning bank charges to the tune of crores of rupees on the buyers credit facility extended by PNB to the three partnership firms and that PNB has extended the money to the firm's buyers as well from where also it has been receiving full payments, with interest and on time all these years. On the valuables that CBI/ED searches yielded Rs 5,649 crore, he said, "These, and other assets of the group and the three firms could have settled all the amounts due to banks. However, now that stage appears to have passed." He concluded by requesting the bank to "be fair, and support my efforts to make good all the amounts that are found due by my group to all banks." Owning up everything, he said the bank has wrongly named his brother, who is not at all concerned with the operations of the three firms or other companies. "My wife is not connected with any business operations at all and she has been wrongly named. My uncle is also wrongly named in this complaint since he has an independent and unconnected business and none of them are aware or concerned with my dealings with your bank." "Whatever may be the consequences I may face for my actions, the haste was, in my humble submission, unwarranted," Modi concluded and requested the bank to permit him to pay the salaries to 2,200 employees from the balance lying in the current accounts of his firms.

PNB's 'overzealousness' shut door on ability to clear dues: Nirav Modi

As the Nirav <a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/pnb-fraud-cbi-sends-3-accused-pnb-officials-to-police-custody-33516">Modi-induced Punjab National Bank(PNB) scam</a> continued to take a toll on the banking system in India, the Reserve Bank of India(RBI) said it had alerted banks thrice on potential malicious use of SWIFT infrastructure since August 2016.

Society for<a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/photographs-of-pm-modi-with-nirav-modi-prove-nothing-amit-shah-33510"> Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications</a> also called (SWIFT) are used by banks to facilitate safe transactions. The system allows banks to transact between each other especially when foreign currency is involved. It is reportedly used by over 200 countries and is a common banking tool well known for ensuring secure transaction.

However, in the PNB scam case, the SWIFT system has come under scrutiny with officials claiming it was widely misused by bankers who allegedly manipulated it to move funds in favour of Nirav Modi.

Five bank officials, including the two at the Mumbai branch, have so far been arrested. 
&nbsp; 
The alleged fraud occurred as one PNB deputy manager, with the assistance of one or more colleagues, issued over 100 fraudulent Letters of Undertaking &ndash; essentially guarantees sent to other banks so that they would provide loans to a customer.&nbsp;

After entering the transactions on the SWIFT messaging system, the official, who worked at the same branch from 2010 to 2017 despite normal bank practices of regular rotations - did not record them on PNB`s internal system, according to the bank`s complaint.

A PNB source said on Tuesday all its branches have now been asked to reconcile SWIFT messages with entries in their core banking system going back eight or nine years.&nbsp;

India&#39;s central bank said it had set up a panel under Y H Malegam to look into reasons behind incidents of frauds in banks.

The panel will also look into reasons for high divergence in NPA classification and provisioning by banks.

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<iframe allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/AF6coGcVMNg" width="560"></iframe> 
&nbsp;

&nbsp;

Five bank officials, including the two at the Mumbai branch, have so far been arrested.

As the Nirav Modi-induced Punjab National Bank(PNB) scam continued to take a toll on the banking system in India, the Reserve Bank of India(RBI) said it had alerted banks thrice on potential malicious use of SWIFT infrastructure since August 2016. Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications also called (SWIFT) are used by banks to facilitate safe transactions. The system allows banks to transact between each other especially when foreign currency is involved. It is reportedly used by over 200 countries and is a common banking tool well known for ensuring secure transaction. However, in the PNB scam case, the SWIFT system has come under scrutiny with officials claiming it was widely misused by bankers who allegedly manipulated it to move funds in favour of Nirav Modi. Five bank officials, including the two at the Mumbai branch, have so far been arrested. The alleged fraud occurred as one PNB deputy manager, with the assistance of one or more colleagues, issued over 100 fraudulent Letters of Undertaking – essentially guarantees sent to other banks so that they would provide loans to a customer. After entering the transactions on the SWIFT messaging system, the official, who worked at the same branch from 2010 to 2017 despite normal bank practices of regular rotations - did not record them on PNB`s internal system, according to the bank`s complaint. A PNB source said on Tuesday all its branches have now been asked to reconcile SWIFT messages with entries in their core banking system going back eight or nine years. India's central bank said it had set up a panel under Y H Malegam to look into reasons behind incidents of frauds in banks. The panel will also look into reasons for high divergence in NPA classification and provisioning by banks.

Alerted banks thrice since 2016 on potential malicious use of SWIFT: RBI

Dear Sir/Madam,

1. I refer to the extended discussions between us, and between my representatives and your officers. I also refer to my emails dated 13th and 15th February 2018.

2. In view of the recent actions by you, the authorities, and the extensive press coverage in the last couple of days, I must state my position to the extent it is relevant at this stage. The media suggests that the liability of the Nirav Modi Group is over Rs. 11,000 crores. As you are aware, this is entirely incorrect and the liability of the Nirav Modi Group is substantially less. Even after your complaint was filed, in good faith I wrote to you saying please sell/ allow me to sell Firestar Group, or their valuable assets, and recover the moneys that may be found due not just from Firestar Group, but also from the three firms. The valuation of the business was approximately Rs. 6,500 crores which could have helped reduce/discharge the debt to the banking system.

3. However, the erroneous liability resulted in a media frenzy led to immediate search and seizure of operations, which has in turn resulted in FirestarInternational Private Limited and Firestar Diamond International Private Limited effectively ceasing to be going concerns. This has thereby jeopardized our ability to discharge the dues of the group to the banks.

4. In light of this, it is necessary to reinstate some facts:

I. You have acknowledged that:

(a) The Buyers Credit Facility has been extended by PNB to the three partnership firms since several years. 
(b) There has been no default on the part of any of these firms over all these years. 
(c) Moneys have gone through PNB over all these years for the repayments of the advances given by the overseas branches of banks under the Buyers Credit. 
(d) FIPL and FDIPL have been profitable, enjoyed a high (A-) credit rating, and have never been in default to any bank, and its bankers are fully secured.

II. You are aware that:

(a) PNB has over the years been earning bank charges to the tune of crores of rupees on the Buyers Credit Facility extended by PNB to the three partnership firms. 
(b) The banks that have extended the money to the firm&rsquo;s buyers have been receiving payment in full, with interest, in time all these year.

5. Yesterday, FIPL and FDIPL&rsquo;s inventory has been seized by the authorities. As per press reports the valuation of the is Rs. 5,649 crores. These, and other assets of FIPL/FDIPL and the three firms (including receivables and assets seized) could have settled all the amounts due to banks. However, now that stage appears to have passed, and there is generally panic.

6. I urge you once again to be fair, and in the interests of transparency, justice, the banking system and India as a whole, support my efforts to make good all the amounts that are found due by my group to all banks.

7. In your complaint you have wrongly named my brother, who was not at all concerned with the operations of the three firms or FIPL (India) and FDIPL (India). My wife was not connected with any business operations at all and she has been wrongly named. My uncle is also wrongly named in this complaint since he has an independent and unconnected business from mine and none of us are aware or concerned with his dealings with your bank.

8. The matter is being described as India&rsquo;s largest banking fraud. This is far from the truth. Nirav Modi Group ran a legitimate luxury brand business and the brand had become India&rsquo;s foremost global luxury brand, standing side by side with some of the biggest jewellery brands in the world. In the anxiety to recover your dues immediately, despite my offer, your actions have destroyed my brand and the business and have now restricted your ability to recover all the dues leaving a trail of unpaid debts. Whatever may be the consequences I may face for my actions, the haste was, in my humble submission, unwarranted.

9. I would request you to permit salaries for FIPL and FDIPL to be paid for the 2200 employees from the balance lying in the current accounts. Our HR head will send you a breakup of the monthly salary.

Yours Sincerely,

Nirav Modi

Beleaguered businessman Nirav Modi, the alleged kingpin of the largest banking scam in the country's history, has said PNB's "overzealousness" shut the doors on his ability to clear the dues.

Dear Sir/Madam, 1. I refer to the extended discussions between us, and between my representatives and your officers. I also refer to my emails dated 13th and 15th February 2018. 2. In view of the recent actions by you, the authorities, and the extensive press coverage in the last couple of days, I must state my position to the extent it is relevant at this stage. The media suggests that the liability of the Nirav Modi Group is over Rs. 11,000 crores. As you are aware, this is entirely incorrect and the liability of the Nirav Modi Group is substantially less. Even after your complaint was filed, in good faith I wrote to you saying please sell/ allow me to sell Firestar Group, or their valuable assets, and recover the moneys that may be found due not just from Firestar Group, but also from the three firms. The valuation of the business was approximately Rs. 6,500 crores which could have helped reduce/discharge the debt to the banking system. 3. However, the erroneous liability resulted in a media frenzy led to immediate search and seizure of operations, which has in turn resulted in FirestarInternational Private Limited and Firestar Diamond International Private Limited effectively ceasing to be going concerns. This has thereby jeopardized our ability to discharge the dues of the group to the banks. 4. In light of this, it is necessary to reinstate some facts: I. You have acknowledged that: (a) The Buyers Credit Facility has been extended by PNB to the three partnership firms since several years. (b) There has been no default on the part of any of these firms over all these years. (c) Moneys have gone through PNB over all these years for the repayments of the advances given by the overseas branches of banks under the Buyers Credit. (d) FIPL and FDIPL have been profitable, enjoyed a high (A-) credit rating, and have never been in default to any bank, and its bankers are fully secured. II. You are aware that: (a) PNB has over the years been earning bank charges to the tune of crores of rupees on the Buyers Credit Facility extended by PNB to the three partnership firms. (b) The banks that have extended the money to the firm’s buyers have been receiving payment in full, with interest, in time all these year. 5. Yesterday, FIPL and FDIPL’s inventory has been seized by the authorities. As per press reports the valuation of the is Rs. 5,649 crores. These, and other assets of FIPL/FDIPL and the three firms (including receivables and assets seized) could have settled all the amounts due to banks. However, now that stage appears to have passed, and there is generally panic. 6. I urge you once again to be fair, and in the interests of transparency, justice, the banking system and India as a whole, support my efforts to make good all the amounts that are found due by my group to all banks. 7. In your complaint you have wrongly named my brother, who was not at all concerned with the operations of the three firms or FIPL (India) and FDIPL (India). My wife was not connected with any business operations at all and she has been wrongly named. My uncle is also wrongly named in this complaint since he has an independent and unconnected business from mine and none of us are aware or concerned with his dealings with your bank. 8. The matter is being described as India’s largest banking fraud. This is far from the truth. Nirav Modi Group ran a legitimate luxury brand business and the brand had become India’s foremost global luxury brand, standing side by side with some of the biggest jewellery brands in the world. In the anxiety to recover your dues immediately, despite my offer, your actions have destroyed my brand and the business and have now restricted your ability to recover all the dues leaving a trail of unpaid debts. Whatever may be the consequences I may face for my actions, the haste was, in my humble submission, unwarranted. 9. I would request you to permit salaries for FIPL and FDIPL to be paid for the 2200 employees from the balance lying in the current accounts. Our HR head will send you a breakup of the monthly salary. Yours Sincerely, Nirav Modi

'You destroyed my brand': Read full text of Nirav Modi's letter to PNB

My son has been framed by the Punjab National Bank in the Nirav Modi fraud case, said Hanumant Kharat, father of Manoj Kharat.

Single Window Operator Manoj and Gokulnath Shetty, a former Deputy Manager at the Punjab National Bank (PNB), have been arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for helping Modi conduct fraudulent transactions of over 11,000 crores.

Talking to ANI, Hanumant said, &quot;The entire banking system is faulty. My son has been framed by the bank (PNB).&quot;

He further questioned that how could an employee,&nbsp;whose authority is to deal with an amount not more than Rs 25000, commit fraud worth crores of rupees.

&quot;What is my son&#39;s authority and post? They have done grave injustice to my son. The power of a clerk is only to deal with amount of Rs. 20000-25000. What is the salary of my son? His starting salary was Rs 17000 and after 2.5 years, his salary is Rs&nbsp; 23000. How could the bank entrust responsibility of crores of rupees on him?&quot; Hanumant wondered.

He added: &quot;It seems that the higher authorities must have been committing wrong deeds through such junior new employees, who do not know anything.&quot;

According to the CBI, Gokulnath Shetty and Manoj had issued eight letters of understanding (LOU) worth over Rs. 280 crore to Nirav Modi&#39;s company just three months before Shetty retired in May. The LOUs were issued in February. The due date mentioned was January 2018.

The PNB has lodged two financial fraud complaints of Rs. 11400 crore and Rs 280 crore against famous designer jeweler Nirav Modi, his family members and Mehul Choksi, the owner of Gitanjali Gems.

The CBI filed a formal case charging four- Nirav Modi, his wife Ami, brother Nishal and Mehul Choksi- on January 31 over Rs. 280 crore fraud.

The Enforcement Directorate has conducted raids in many cities at various properties belonging to Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi.&nbsp;

Single Window Operator Manoj Kharat and Gokulnath Shetty, a former Deputy Manager at the Punjab National Bank (PNB), have been arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation

My son has been framed by the Punjab National Bank in the Nirav Modi fraud case, said Hanumant Kharat, father of Manoj Kharat. Single Window Operator Manoj and Gokulnath Shetty, a former Deputy Manager at the Punjab National Bank (PNB), have been arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for helping Modi conduct fraudulent transactions of over 11,000 crores. Talking to ANI, Hanumant said, "The entire banking system is faulty. My son has been framed by the bank (PNB)." He further questioned that how could an employee, whose authority is to deal with an amount not more than Rs 25000, commit fraud worth crores of rupees. "What is my son's authority and post? They have done grave injustice to my son. The power of a clerk is only to deal with amount of Rs. 20000-25000. What is the salary of my son? His starting salary was Rs 17000 and after 2.5 years, his salary is Rs 23000. How could the bank entrust responsibility of crores of rupees on him?" Hanumant wondered. He added: "It seems that the higher authorities must have been committing wrong deeds through such junior new employees, who do not know anything." According to the CBI, Gokulnath Shetty and Manoj had issued eight letters of understanding (LOU) worth over Rs. 280 crore to Nirav Modi's company just three months before Shetty retired in May. The LOUs were issued in February. The due date mentioned was January 2018. The PNB has lodged two financial fraud complaints of Rs. 11400 crore and Rs 280 crore against famous designer jeweler Nirav Modi, his family members and Mehul Choksi, the owner of Gitanjali Gems. The CBI filed a formal case charging four- Nirav Modi, his wife Ami, brother Nishal and Mehul Choksi- on January 31 over Rs. 280 crore fraud. The Enforcement Directorate has conducted raids in many cities at various properties belonging to Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi.

Son had authority to deal with Rs 25,000, couldn't have committed PNB fraud worth crores: Accused's father

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/pnbs-overzealousness-shut-the-doors-on-ability-to-clear-the-dues-nirav-modi-33415">PNB&#39;s &#39;overzealousness&#39; shut door on ability to clear dues: Nirav Modi</a>

Throwing up his hands, beleaguered businessman Nirav Modi, the alleged kingpin of the largest banking scam in the country&#39;s history, has said PNB&#39;s &rdquo;overzealousness&rdquo; shut the doors on his ability to clear the dues.

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/ready-to-bring-no-trust-motion-against-centre-as-last-resort-chandrababu-naidu-33429">Ready to bring no-trust motion against Centre as last resort: Chandrababu Naidu</a>

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu Monday said he was ready to move a no-confidence motion against the Narendra Modi government with the support of other parties to get &quot;justice&quot; for the southern state.&nbsp;

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/trump-jr-arriving-in-india-with-business-foreign-policy-in-mind-33413">Donald Trump Jr in India, to have dinner with Trump Tower buyers</a>

The United States President Donald Trump&#39;s son, Donald Trump Jr, is coming to India with business and foreign policy in mind.

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/donald-trump-comes-at-last-spot-on-presidential-greatness-survey-33425">US presidential &#39;greatness&#39; survey: Donald Trump comes last</a>

Donald Trump has come last in a US presidential &quot;greatness&quot; survey, conducted by the University of Houston and Boise State University.

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/entertainment-sylvester-stallone-squashes-death-rumours-says-alive-healthy-and-still-punching-33427">Sylvester Stallone refutes </a><a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/entertainment-sylvester-stallone-squashes-death-rumours-says-alive-healthy-and-still-punching-33427">rumours</a><a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/entertainment-sylvester-stallone-squashes-death-rumours-says-alive-healthy-and-still-punching-33427"> of his death, says &#39;Alive, healthy and still punching&#39;</a>

No, Sly Stallone is not dead. Fans of the actor fell prey to yet another death hoax news on Monday as news of Sylvester Stallone&#39;s death started doing the rounds of the internet.&nbsp;

 
&nbsp;

Read the five big stories of the morning here

PNB's 'overzealousness' shut door on ability to clear dues: Nirav Modi Throwing up his hands, beleaguered businessman Nirav Modi, the alleged kingpin of the largest banking scam in the country's history, has said PNB's ”overzealousness” shut the doors on his ability to clear the dues. Ready to bring no-trust motion against Centre as last resort: Chandrababu Naidu Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu Monday said he was ready to move a no-confidence motion against the Narendra Modi government with the support of other parties to get "justice" for the southern state. Donald Trump Jr in India, to have dinner with Trump Tower buyers The United States President Donald Trump's son, Donald Trump Jr, is coming to India with business and foreign policy in mind. US presidential 'greatness' survey: Donald Trump comes last Donald Trump has come last in a US presidential "greatness" survey, conducted by the University of Houston and Boise State University. Sylvester Stallone refutes rumours of his death, says 'Alive, healthy and still punching' No, Sly Stallone is not dead. Fans of the actor fell prey to yet another death hoax news on Monday as news of Sylvester Stallone's death started doing the rounds of the internet.

WION Morning News Brief, February 20, 2018

Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Tuesday said that it was incumbent on the state to chase down those who cheat the banking system.

The Finance Minister called out to the auditors, senior banking officials, chartered accountants and supervisory agencies &quot;to introspect&quot;.

&quot;When authority is given to the management then you are expected to utilize authority effectively and in the right manner. Therefore, the question for management here is if they were found lacking, on the face of it seems they were,&quot; Jaitley noted.&nbsp;

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
When authority is given to the managements then you are expected to utilize authority effectively and in the right manner and therefore question for management is if they were found lacking, on the face of it seems they were: FM Arun Jaitley on banks <a href="https://t.co/rwI7W38iaT">pic.twitter.com/rwI7W38iaT</a>
&mdash; ANI (@ANI) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI/status/965941717789704192?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 20, 2018</a></blockquote>
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&quot;Also what were the auditors doing? If both internal and external auditors have looked other way and failed to detect then I think CA professionals must introspect. Supervisory agencies also must introspect what are the additional mechanisms they have to put in place,&quot; he added further.&nbsp;

The Finance Minister was speaking at the 41st Annual Meeting of Association of Development Financial Institutions in Asia and Pacific (ADFIAP). His statements came in the wake of a mega scam where the PNB detected a 1.77 billion dollar fraud involving jeweller Nirav Modi and others.

(With inputs from ANI)&nbsp;

Those who cheat banking system will be chased down: Arun Jaitley

Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Tuesday said that it was incumbent on the state to chase down those who cheat the banking system. The Finance Minister called out to the auditors, senior banking officials, chartered accountants and supervisory agencies "to introspect". "When authority is given to the management then you are expected to utilize authority effectively and in the right manner. Therefore, the question for management here is if they were found lacking, on the face of it seems they were," Jaitley noted. When authority is given to the managements then you are expected to utilize authority effectively and in the right manner and therefore question for management is if they were found lacking, on the face of it seems they were: FM Arun Jaitley on banks pic.twitter.com/rwI7W38iaT — ANI (@ANI) February 20, 2018 × "Also what were the auditors doing? If both internal and external auditors have looked other way and failed to detect then I think CA professionals must introspect. Supervisory agencies also must introspect what are the additional mechanisms they have to put in place," he added further. The Finance Minister was speaking at the 41st Annual Meeting of Association of Development Financial Institutions in Asia and Pacific (ADFIAP). His statements came in the wake of a mega scam where the PNB detected a 1.77 billion dollar fraud involving jeweller Nirav Modi and others. (With inputs from ANI)

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/cbi-questions-rotomac-owner-vikram-kothari-freezes-14-bank-accounts-33505" target="_blank">CBI questions Rotomac owner Vikram </a><a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/cbi-questions-rotomac-owner-vikram-kothari-freezes-14-bank-accounts-33505" target="_blank">Kothari,</a><a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/cbi-questions-rotomac-owner-vikram-kothari-freezes-14-bank-accounts-33505" target="_blank"> freezes 14 bank accounts</a>

The Income&nbsp;<a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/cbi-registers-case-against-rotomac-directors-for-cheating-seven-banks-33364">Tax Department has attached 14 bank</a>&nbsp;accounts of Rotomac which belong to various banks&nbsp;as the CBI grilled the owner Vikram Kothari today. Reports said three accounts belong to Vikram Kothari and his family.

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/south-asia/bangladesh-stock-exchange-approves-chinas-bid-rejects-india-33511" target="_blank">Bangladesh stock exchange approves China&#39;s bid, rejects India</a>

China has emerged<a href="http://www.wionews.com/south-asia/now-india-china-battle-in-bangladesh-stock-exchange-32913">&nbsp;as the winner against India in the</a>&nbsp;battle for supremacy in the Bangladesh stock exchange. After reports of<a href="http://www.wionews.com/south-asia/want-to-deepen-ties-with-china-to-gain-greater-leverage-with-india-nepals-oli-33440">&nbsp;India and China putting up bids in the&nbsp;</a>Bangladesh stock exchange took everyone by surprise, an official told AFP that Bangladesh has agreed to sell a large stake to a Chinese consortium, disregarding India&#39;s bid.

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/breakdown-of-governance-say-ias-officers-after-delhi-chief-secretary-alleges-assault-by-aap-mlas-33465" target="_blank">&#39;Breakdown of governance,&#39; say IAS officers after Delhi Chief Secretary alleges assault by AAP MLAs</a>

A massive political firestorm erupted over Delhi Tuesday after the chief secretary alleged that he had been assaulted by AAP MLAs at the chief minister&#39;s residence.&nbsp;The Aam Aadmi Party has called Anshu Prakash&#39;s allegation &quot;ludicrous&quot;, adding that he was acting on the BJP&#39;s behest.&nbsp;&nbsp;

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/south-asia/three-killed-in-blast-in-afghan-city-jalalabad-33494">Three killed in blast in Afghan city Jalalabad</a>

&nbsp;An explosion killed at least three tribal elders and wounded two when it hit a hotel in the eastern Afghan city of Jalalabad on Tuesday, officials said. The cause of the blast was not immediately clear and there was no immediate claim of responsibility.

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/turkey-will-lay-siege-to-syrias-afrin-in-coming-days-erdogan-33487" target="_blank">Turkey will lay siege to Syria&#39;s Afrin in coming days: Erdogan</a>

Turkey will lay siege to Afrin in northern Syria after launching an offensive against Kurdish militia in the region last month, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday.

CBI questions Rotomac owner Vikram Kothari, freezes 14 bank accounts The Income Tax Department has attached 14 bank accounts of Rotomac which belong to various banks as the CBI grilled the owner Vikram Kothari today. Reports said three accounts belong to Vikram Kothari and his family. Bangladesh stock exchange approves China's bid, rejects India China has emerged as the winner against India in the battle for supremacy in the Bangladesh stock exchange. After reports of India and China putting up bids in the Bangladesh stock exchange took everyone by surprise, an official told AFP that Bangladesh has agreed to sell a large stake to a Chinese consortium, disregarding India's bid. 'Breakdown of governance,' say IAS officers after Delhi Chief Secretary alleges assault by AAP MLAs A massive political firestorm erupted over Delhi Tuesday after the chief secretary alleged that he had been assaulted by AAP MLAs at the chief minister's residence. The Aam Aadmi Party has called Anshu Prakash's allegation "ludicrous", adding that he was acting on the BJP's behest. Three killed in blast in Afghan city Jalalabad An explosion killed at least three tribal elders and wounded two when it hit a hotel in the eastern Afghan city of Jalalabad on Tuesday, officials said. The cause of the blast was not immediately clear and there was no immediate claim of responsibility. Turkey will lay siege to Syria's Afrin in coming days: Erdogan Turkey will lay siege to Afrin in northern Syria after launching an offensive against Kurdish militia in the region last month, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday.

WION Evening News brief, February 20, 2018

BJP Chief Amit Shah has given clarifications over the accusations put up by Congress party which state that the charges on <a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/who-is-nirav-modi-the-billionaire-jeweller-at-centre-of-rs-11000-crore-scam-32970" target="_blank">Nirav Modi </a>were proved when he shared the stage with the Prime Minister in Davos at World Economic Forum.&nbsp;

Clarifying the allegations of the opposition party Amit Shah said &quot;&nbsp;Photographs prove nothing, even you people are sitting with me &amp; if one of you commits a crime will you make me liable too? As far as Nirav Modi case is concerned Centre has taken it seriously and already seized more than 5 thousand crore assets&quot;.

The Congress&#39;&nbsp;allegations surfaced after pictures from the event showed Nirav Modi sharing the dais with PM Modi in the event.&nbsp;

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Photographs(Nirav Modi Davos photo) prove nothing,even you people are sitting with me &amp; if one of you commits a crime will you make me liable too? As far as <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NiravModi?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NiravModi</a> case is concerned Centre has taken it seriously and already seized more than 5 thousand crore assets: Amit Shah <a href="https://t.co/a6QUz0DAE1">pic.twitter.com/a6QUz0DAE1</a>
&mdash; ANI (@ANI) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI/status/965923953171673088?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 20, 2018</a></blockquote>
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Earlier Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad had also issued explaination on the matter saying that Nirav Modi was not part of the Prime Minister&#39;s delegation during his visit to Davos at World Economic Forum.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

Clarifying the allegations of the Congress Amit Shah said 'Photographs prove nothing, even you people are sitting with me & if one of you commits a crime will you make me liable too? As far as Nirav Modi case is concerned Centre has taken it seriously and already seized over 5000 crore assets

BJP Chief Amit Shah has given clarifications over the accusations put up by Congress party which state that the charges on Nirav Modi were proved when he shared the stage with the Prime Minister in Davos at World Economic Forum. Clarifying the allegations of the opposition party Amit Shah said " Photographs prove nothing, even you people are sitting with me & if one of you commits a crime will you make me liable too? As far as Nirav Modi case is concerned Centre has taken it seriously and already seized more than 5 thousand crore assets". The Congress' allegations surfaced after pictures from the event showed Nirav Modi sharing the dais with PM Modi in the event. Photographs(Nirav Modi Davos photo) prove nothing,even you people are sitting with me & if one of you commits a crime will you make me liable too? As far as #NiravModi case is concerned Centre has taken it seriously and already seized more than 5 thousand crore assets: Amit Shah pic.twitter.com/a6QUz0DAE1 — ANI (@ANI) February 20, 2018 × Earlier Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad had also issued explaination on the matter saying that Nirav Modi was not part of the Prime Minister's delegation during his visit to Davos at World Economic Forum.

Photographs of PM Modi with Nirav Modi prove nothing: Amit Shah

The Central <a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/case-of-loan-default-not-fraud-vikram-kotharis-lawyer-33359">Bureau of Investigation(CBI) has</a> registered a case against Rotomac directors alleging that the conspirators cheated seven banks by syphoning off bank loans worth Rs 2,919 crore.

CBI has registered a case against Rotomac directors - Vikram Kothari, Sadhana Kothari, Rahul Kothari, including unknown bank officials after a complaint from Bank of Baroda.

CBI is currently conducting searches at three places in Kanpur and has questioned all three accused directors: Vikram Kothari, Sadhana Kothari and Rahul Kothari.&nbsp;

CBI has also sealed&nbsp;residential premises and an office of Rotomac directors in New Delhi.&nbsp;

In the complaint, the CBI claimed the total outstanding amount along with interest liabilities for Rotomac is Rs. 3,695 crore.

The CBI named the banks which have been affected due to scam, which include: Bank of India, Bank of Baroda, Bank of Maharashtra, Indian Overseas Bank, Union Bank of India, Allahabad Bank and Oriental Bank of Commerce.

According to the CBI officials, the company allegedly used two modus operandi for siphoning off the loans secured from consortium of banks from 2008 onwards. 
Credit sanctioned and loan disbursed to the company was utilised for the purposes, other than executing export orders.

The CBI alleged that the credit sanctioned for a particular export order was diverted to a different offshore company and later the money was remitted back into the Kanpur-based company without executing an export order.

In other cases, money disbursed by the banks for procurement of goods for export was not utilised and no export order was executed ever. This is misappropriation of the fund, criminal breach of trust and violation of FEMA guidelines, the officials said.

Most of the transaction of this companies is with limited number of buyers, sellers sister companies and subsidiary of this company.

On Monday, the CBI had conducted raids on the properties of Rotomac Pens&#39; owner Vikram Kothari at his home in Kanpur.

The CBI questioned Kothari, his wife and their son.&nbsp;

On Sunday, there were reports that Kothari was allegedly &quot;missing&quot; from Kanpur. Reports had indicated that Kothari had taken a loan worth Rs. 352 crore from the Kanpur branch of Allahabad Bank and Rs. 485 crore from three other banks, namely Bank of Baroda, Indian Overseas Bank, and Union Bank of India.

On Monday, the CBI had conducted raids on the properties of Rotomac Pens' owner Vikram Kothari at his home in Kanpur.

The Central Bureau of Investigation(CBI) has registered a case against Rotomac directors alleging that the conspirators cheated seven banks by syphoning off bank loans worth Rs 2,919 crore. CBI has registered a case against Rotomac directors - Vikram Kothari, Sadhana Kothari, Rahul Kothari, including unknown bank officials after a complaint from Bank of Baroda. CBI is currently conducting searches at three places in Kanpur and has questioned all three accused directors: Vikram Kothari, Sadhana Kothari and Rahul Kothari. CBI has also sealed residential premises and an office of Rotomac directors in New Delhi. In the complaint, the CBI claimed the total outstanding amount along with interest liabilities for Rotomac is Rs. 3,695 crore. The CBI named the banks which have been affected due to scam, which include: Bank of India, Bank of Baroda, Bank of Maharashtra, Indian Overseas Bank, Union Bank of India, Allahabad Bank and Oriental Bank of Commerce. According to the CBI officials, the company allegedly used two modus operandi for siphoning off the loans secured from consortium of banks from 2008 onwards. Credit sanctioned and loan disbursed to the company was utilised for the purposes, other than executing export orders. The CBI alleged that the credit sanctioned for a particular export order was diverted to a different offshore company and later the money was remitted back into the Kanpur-based company without executing an export order. In other cases, money disbursed by the banks for procurement of goods for export was not utilised and no export order was executed ever. This is misappropriation of the fund, criminal breach of trust and violation of FEMA guidelines, the officials said. Most of the transaction of this companies is with limited number of buyers, sellers sister companies and subsidiary of this company. On Monday, the CBI had conducted raids on the properties of Rotomac Pens' owner Vikram Kothari at his home in Kanpur. The CBI questioned Kothari, his wife and their son. On Sunday, there were reports that Kothari was allegedly "missing" from Kanpur. Reports had indicated that Kothari had taken a loan worth Rs. 352 crore from the Kanpur branch of Allahabad Bank and Rs. 485 crore from three other banks, namely Bank of Baroda, Indian Overseas Bank, and Union Bank of India.

CBI registers case against Rotomac directors for cheating seven banks

The CBI search in the ongoing PNB fraud continues today. The search is being conducted in the Punjab National Bank&#39;s Mid Corporate Branch, Brady House in Mumbai.

According to reports, the branch was briefly secured with a seal during the wee hours to prevent any inadvertent or unauthorised opening by any PNB staff.&nbsp;

The temporary sealing of the branch premises was to prevent any instance of tampering. The authorities here state that the regular business of the branch will not be affected today.

The official notice of the CBI read, &#39;The branch cannot be opened and entered into without permission/order of the court concerned or Competent Authority of the Central Bureau of Investigation Mumbai.&#39;&#39;

MCB Brady house is the same branch where transactions related to PNB scam were carried out.

Meanwhile, the CBI also carried out searches at three places in Kanpur, questioning the three accused Directors - Vikram Kothari, Sadhana Kothari &amp; Rahul Kothari. Residential premises and offices of Rotomac Directors have also been sealed by the CBI in New Delhi.

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CBI is conducting searches at three places in Kanpur and questioning all the three accused Directors - Vikram Kothari, Sadhana Kothari &amp; Rahul Kothari. CBI has also sealed a residential premises and an office of Rotomac Directors in New Delhi. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/PNBFraudCase?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#PNBFraudCase</a>
&mdash; ANI (@ANI) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI/status/965527992255569920?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 19, 2018</a></blockquote>
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The Enforcement Directorate visited the residence of former Allahabad Bank director Dinesh Dubey. Dubey had alleged that the bank had granted a loan to Gitanjali Gems in 2013 despite his dissent.&nbsp;

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<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Vadodara?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Vadodara</a>: ED team reaches residence of former Allahabad Bank director Dinesh Dubey who had alleged that loan was given to Gitanjali Gems in 2013 despite his dissent note <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/PNBFraud?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#PNBFraud</a> <a href="https://t.co/vHmR4IGleh">pic.twitter.com/vHmR4IGleh</a>
&mdash; ANI (@ANI) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI/status/965522785463390208?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 19, 2018</a></blockquote>
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The Nirav Modi-PNB fraud made headlines on January 29 after a PNB official from Mumbai lodged a complaint with the CBI complaining against Solar Exports, Stellar Diamonds and Diamond R US.

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Bihar: Enforcement Directorate conducts raid at a <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Gitanjali?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Gitanjali</a> and a <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Nakshatra?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Nakshatra</a> showroom in Muzaffarpur. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/PNBFraudCase?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#PNBFraudCase</a>
&mdash; ANI (@ANI) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI/status/965539931417468928?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 19, 2018</a></blockquote>
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Four others including diamantaire Nirav Modi and Gitanjali Gems&#39; MD Mehul Choksi were named and accused of defrauding the bank.&nbsp;

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<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NiravModi?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NiravModi</a> Case: ED raids being conducted in Lucknow, Noida &amp; Ghaziabad.
&mdash; ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANINewsUP/status/965539092527271936?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 19, 2018</a></blockquote>
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The bank later alleged two junior employees at the Mumbai branch to have assisted the named companies and fraudsters in acquiring &#39;letters of undertaking&#39;&nbsp;(LoUs) even in the absence sufficient funds or required credit limit.&nbsp;

Residential premises and offices of Rotomac Directors have also been sealed by the CBI in New Delhi

The CBI search in the ongoing PNB fraud continues today. The search is being conducted in the Punjab National Bank's Mid Corporate Branch, Brady House in Mumbai. According to reports, the branch was briefly secured with a seal during the wee hours to prevent any inadvertent or unauthorised opening by any PNB staff. The temporary sealing of the branch premises was to prevent any instance of tampering. The authorities here state that the regular business of the branch will not be affected today. The official notice of the CBI read, 'The branch cannot be opened and entered into without permission/order of the court concerned or Competent Authority of the Central Bureau of Investigation Mumbai.'' MCB Brady house is the same branch where transactions related to PNB scam were carried out. Meanwhile, the CBI also carried out searches at three places in Kanpur, questioning the three accused Directors - Vikram Kothari, Sadhana Kothari & Rahul Kothari. Residential premises and offices of Rotomac Directors have also been sealed by the CBI in New Delhi. CBI is conducting searches at three places in Kanpur and questioning all the three accused Directors - Vikram Kothari, Sadhana Kothari & Rahul Kothari. CBI has also sealed a residential premises and an office of Rotomac Directors in New Delhi. #PNBFraudCase — ANI (@ANI) February 19, 2018 × The Enforcement Directorate visited the residence of former Allahabad Bank director Dinesh Dubey. Dubey had alleged that the bank had granted a loan to Gitanjali Gems in 2013 despite his dissent. #Vadodara: ED team reaches residence of former Allahabad Bank director Dinesh Dubey who had alleged that loan was given to Gitanjali Gems in 2013 despite his dissent note #PNBFraud pic.twitter.com/vHmR4IGleh — ANI (@ANI) February 19, 2018 × The Nirav Modi-PNB fraud made headlines on January 29 after a PNB official from Mumbai lodged a complaint with the CBI complaining against Solar Exports, Stellar Diamonds and Diamond R US. Bihar: Enforcement Directorate conducts raid at a #Gitanjali and a #Nakshatra showroom in Muzaffarpur. #PNBFraudCase — ANI (@ANI) February 19, 2018 × Four others including diamantaire Nirav Modi and Gitanjali Gems' MD Mehul Choksi were named and accused of defrauding the bank. #NiravModi Case: ED raids being conducted in Lucknow, Noida & Ghaziabad. — ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) February 19, 2018 × The bank later alleged two junior employees at the Mumbai branch to have assisted the named companies and fraudsters in acquiring 'letters of undertaking' (LoUs) even in the absence sufficient funds or required credit limit.

PNB scam: Investigations at Mumbai branch continue, ED probes former Allahabad Bank director

Advocate Vijay Aggarwal to be the lawyer of jeweler Nirav Modi accused of PNB scam.

Vijay Aggarwal has represented a number of high-profile accused in 2G spectrum allocation case.

He has represented Swan telecom promoters Shahid Usman Balwa, Vinod Goenka and other associated with them in the 2G scam.

In 2013 Vijay Aggarwal was expelled from the New Delhi Bar Association and his chamber at Patiala House Court complex for his alleged abusive behavior.

He allegedly threatened another lawyer and called bouncers in the court premises.

He was also slapped with a show-cause notice by the bar council in 2011 for indulging in the two professions -chartered accountancy and advocacy- simultaneously.

CBI is currently questioning Nirav Modi&#39;s chief financial officer <a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/pnb-scam-cbi-interrogates-nirav-modis-chief-financial-officer-vipul-ambani-33319">Vipul Ambani</a> in connection with the 11:400 crore scam in their headquarters.

Also read: <a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/pnb-scam-same-person-sent-requests-for-bank-guarantees-approved-them-33322">Same</a><a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/pnb-scam-same-person-sent-requests-for-bank-guarantees-approved-them-33322"> person sent requests for bank guarantees, approved them in PNB scam</a>

Absconded Nirav Modi&nbsp;carried out fraud transactions by acquiring&nbsp;fake letters of undertaking from Punjab National Bank as a proof to other banks to extract money from them.

Last week Punjab National Bank announced that it had discovered fraudulent transactions worth Rs 11,400 crore at<a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/pnb-scam-cbi-seal-banks-mcb-brady-house-branch-in-mumbai-33320"> MCB Brady House branch now sealed</a> by CBI in Mumbai.&nbsp;

Vijay Aggarwal has represented Swan telecom promoters Shahid Usman Balwa, Vinod Goenka and other associated with them in the 2G scam

Advocate Vijay Aggarwal to be the lawyer of jeweler Nirav Modi accused of PNB scam. Vijay Aggarwal has represented a number of high-profile accused in 2G spectrum allocation case. He has represented Swan telecom promoters Shahid Usman Balwa, Vinod Goenka and other associated with them in the 2G scam. In 2013 Vijay Aggarwal was expelled from the New Delhi Bar Association and his chamber at Patiala House Court complex for his alleged abusive behavior. He allegedly threatened another lawyer and called bouncers in the court premises. He was also slapped with a show-cause notice by the bar council in 2011 for indulging in the two professions -chartered accountancy and advocacy- simultaneously. CBI is currently questioning Nirav Modi's chief financial officer Vipul Ambani in connection with the 11:400 crore scam in their headquarters. Also read: Same person sent requests for bank guarantees, approved them in PNB scam Absconded Nirav Modi carried out fraud transactions by acquiring fake letters of undertaking from Punjab National Bank as a proof to other banks to extract money from them. Last week Punjab National Bank announced that it had discovered fraudulent transactions worth Rs 11,400 crore at MCB Brady House branch now sealed by CBI in Mumbai.

PNB scam: Vijay Aggarwal of 2G spectrum fame to be Nirav Modi's lawyer

Rotomac Pens owner <a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/amid-reports-he-has-fled-country-rotomacs-vikram-kothari-seen-at-wedding-in-kanpur-33317" target="_blank">Vikram Kothari</a>`s lawyer Sharad Kumar Birla on Monday rejected reports of<a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/now-rotomac-pens-rs-800-crore-defaulter-flees-country-33284" target="_blank"> fraud committed by his client</a>, adding that it was a case of loan default.

&quot;My client had borrowed a sum of Rs. 800 crore as a loan for business purpose. The ongoing case involves no fraud; it is a case of loan default. I am yet to be given complete details of the matter at present,&quot; Birla told reporters.

On Sunday, reports surfaced that Kothari was allegedly `missing` from Kanpur in possession of a bank loan worth Rs. 837 crore.

Kothari had taken a loan worth Rs. 352 crore from the Kanpur branch of Allahabad Bank and Rs. 485 crore from three other banks, namely Bank of Baroda, Indian Overseas Bank, and Union Bank of India.

Earlier, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) filed a case against Kothari and others and carried out <a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/kanpur-cbi-raids-properties-of-rotomac-owner-vikram-kothari-interrogation-underway-33326" target="_blank">raids in his residence in Kanpur</a> and three other locations.

Furthermore, Kothari, along with his wife and son was interrogated by the CBI.Meanwhile, Kothari on February 16 had said that he would not run away from the country and had not done anything wrong.

'My client had borrowed a sum of Rs. 800 crore as a loan for business purpose. The ongoing case involves no fraud; it is a case of loan default. I am yet to be given complete details of the matter at present,' Vikram Kothari's lawyer Sharad Kumar Birla told reporters

Rotomac Pens owner Vikram Kothari`s lawyer Sharad Kumar Birla on Monday rejected reports of fraud committed by his client, adding that it was a case of loan default. "My client had borrowed a sum of Rs. 800 crore as a loan for business purpose. The ongoing case involves no fraud; it is a case of loan default. I am yet to be given complete details of the matter at present," Birla told reporters. On Sunday, reports surfaced that Kothari was allegedly `missing` from Kanpur in possession of a bank loan worth Rs. 837 crore. Kothari had taken a loan worth Rs. 352 crore from the Kanpur branch of Allahabad Bank and Rs. 485 crore from three other banks, namely Bank of Baroda, Indian Overseas Bank, and Union Bank of India. Earlier, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) filed a case against Kothari and others and carried out raids in his residence in Kanpur and three other locations. Furthermore, Kothari, along with his wife and son was interrogated by the CBI.Meanwhile, Kothari on February 16 had said that he would not run away from the country and had not done anything wrong.

Case of loan default, not fraud: Vikram Kothari's lawyer

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) sealed Punjab National Bank&#39;s MCB Brady House branch in Mumbai on Monday.

The official notice of the CBI read, &#39;Tthe branch cannot be opened and entered into without permission/order of the court concerned or Competent Authority of the Central Bureau of Investigation Mumbai.&#39;&#39;

MCB Brady house is the same branch where transactions related to PNB scam were carried out.

Also read:&nbsp; <a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/pnb-scam-billion-dollar-diamond-fraud-case-puts-indias-state-banks-in-focus-33285">Billion dollar diamond fraud case puts India&#39;s state banks in focus</a>

Last week, Punjab National Bank announced that it had discovered fraudulent transactions worth Rs 11,400 crore at MCB Brady House branch in Mumbai.

&nbsp;Also read: <a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/pnb-fraud-200-shell-firms-benami-assets-under-ed-i-t-dept-scanner-33269">200 shell firms, </a><a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/pnb-fraud-200-shell-firms-benami-assets-under-ed-i-t-dept-scanner-33269">benami</a><a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/pnb-fraud-200-shell-firms-benami-assets-under-ed-i-t-dept-scanner-33269"> assets under ED, I-T dept scanner</a>

Nirav Modi who has now fled the country carried out these fraud transactions by using fake bank guarantees as a proof to other banks to extract money from them.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is conducting a search operation and raided many showrooms across the country. Diamonds, gold, gems, jewellery, metal worth of crores has also been seized.

CBI arrested three officials of the PNB bank in connection with the scam.

Former deputy manager of Punjab National Bank, Gokulnath Shetty and Manoj Kharat, single window operator at PNB and Hemant Bhat, Authorised Signatory of the Nirav Modi Group of Firms were arrested on Saturday. 
&nbsp;

The official notice of the CBI read, 'Tthe branch cannot be opened and entered into without permission/order of the court concerned or Competent Authority of the Central Bureau of Investigation Mumbai'

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) sealed Punjab National Bank's MCB Brady House branch in Mumbai on Monday. The official notice of the CBI read, 'Tthe branch cannot be opened and entered into without permission/order of the court concerned or Competent Authority of the Central Bureau of Investigation Mumbai.'' MCB Brady house is the same branch where transactions related to PNB scam were carried out. Also read: Billion dollar diamond fraud case puts India's state banks in focus Last week, Punjab National Bank announced that it had discovered fraudulent transactions worth Rs 11,400 crore at MCB Brady House branch in Mumbai. Also read: 200 shell firms, benami assets under ED, I-T dept scanner Nirav Modi who has now fled the country carried out these fraud transactions by using fake bank guarantees as a proof to other banks to extract money from them. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is conducting a search operation and raided many showrooms across the country. Diamonds, gold, gems, jewellery, metal worth of crores has also been seized. CBI arrested three officials of the PNB bank in connection with the scam. Former deputy manager of Punjab National Bank, Gokulnath Shetty and Manoj Kharat, single window operator at PNB and Hemant Bhat, Authorised Signatory of the Nirav Modi Group of Firms were arrested on Saturday.

PNB scam: CBI seals bank's Brady House branch in Mumbai

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Monday grilled absconding diamond magnate Nirav Modi&#39;s chief financial officer Vipul Ambani in connection with the Rs 11,400 crore scam.&nbsp;

The CBI had called Vipul to headquarters with all the related documents.&nbsp; 
&nbsp; 
Vipul is the son of Dhirubhai&#39;s younger brother Natubhai Ambani.

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<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NiravModi?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NiravModi</a>&#39;s Chief Financial Officer Vipul Ambani appeared before CBI in <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Mumbai?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Mumbai</a> for questioning in connection with <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/PNBFraudCase?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#PNBFraudCase</a> yesterday <a href="https://t.co/GUNapOqnV7">pic.twitter.com/GUNapOqnV7</a>
&mdash; ANI (@ANI) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI/status/965424144690106368?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 19, 2018</a></blockquote>
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Earlier on Saturday, the CBI had arrested three people, including PNB&rsquo;s former deputy manager Gokulnath Shetty, the bank&rsquo;s single-window operator Manoj Kharat, and Hemant Bhat, authorised signatory for Nirav Modi&rsquo;s firms.&nbsp;

A special court remanded all the three accused to 14 days&rsquo; CBI custody.

According to the source, the accused were taking commission, which was a fixed percentage on every LoU, for unauthorised access and swift password to the Modi firms.&nbsp;

The investigative agency conducted searches at PNB&#39;s Brady House branch in Mumbai. The branch has been sealed today with no one allowed to enter the premises.&nbsp;

Nirav Modi allegedly acquired fraudulent letters of undertaking (LOU) from a PNB branch in Mumbai to secure overseas credit from other Indian lenders. 
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The CBI had called Ambani along with all related documents

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Monday grilled absconding diamond magnate Nirav Modi's chief financial officer Vipul Ambani in connection with the Rs 11,400 crore scam. The CBI had called Vipul to headquarters with all the related documents. Vipul is the son of Dhirubhai's younger brother Natubhai Ambani. #NiravModi's Chief Financial Officer Vipul Ambani appeared before CBI in #Mumbai for questioning in connection with #PNBFraudCase yesterday pic.twitter.com/GUNapOqnV7 — ANI (@ANI) February 19, 2018 × Earlier on Saturday, the CBI had arrested three people, including PNB’s former deputy manager Gokulnath Shetty, the bank’s single-window operator Manoj Kharat, and Hemant Bhat, authorised signatory for Nirav Modi’s firms. A special court remanded all the three accused to 14 days’ CBI custody. According to the source, the accused were taking commission, which was a fixed percentage on every LoU, for unauthorised access and swift password to the Modi firms. The investigative agency conducted searches at PNB's Brady House branch in Mumbai. The branch has been sealed today with no one allowed to enter the premises. Nirav Modi allegedly acquired fraudulent letters of undertaking (LOU) from a PNB branch in Mumbai to secure overseas credit from other Indian lenders.

PNB scam: CBI interrogates Nirav Modi CFO Vipul Ambani

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