NEW DELHI - In the first arrests since the Rs 11,000-plus crore bank fraud stunned the nation, a special CBI court sent a retired deputy manager in Punjab National Bank's forex department, Gokulnath Shetty, a single-window operator (clerk), Manoj Kharat, and an accountant and authorised signatory for prime accused Nirav Modi's firms, Hemant Bhatt, to police custody till March 3. Modi, meanwhile, is holed up in a luxury hotel suite overlooking...
New York's Central Park, a fiveminute walk from Trump International Hotel and Tower. The arrests relate to the first FIR launched by PNB on January 31 alleging a fraud of Rs 280 crore. Since then, CBI has filed another FIR and the latest estimate of the fraud has grown to Rs 11,300 crore, and there could be more to come. In his remand order, CBI judge S R Tamboli said the offence against the accused was serious. “The remand report shows that the extent of fraud may rise beyond Rs 6,000 crore. There must be fair chance to probe the offence which has consequences for the economy of the nation.'' He also said the agency needed time to recover missing fraudulent letters of undertakings (LoUs, a form of bank guarantee) issued by Shetty.
Meanwhile, CBI on Saturday searched six more places, including PNB's Brady House branch, and questioned six PNB officials to know more about the “larger conspiracy”. This followed Kharat's alleged admission to investigators that issuing LoUs in favor of private companies and sending SWIFT messages to overseas branches of Indian banks was “regularly going on” and “more officers are involved in it”.
The ED continued its raid on premises of Nirav Modi on Saturday, and recovered jewellery that it claimed was worth around Rs 20 crore. Prior to being presented in court the three were taken to a hospital for a medical check. Arguing for custody, CBI prosecutor Om Prakash said the three would be required for a thorough probe. He said the probe could not be completed as the “firms' partners are abroad and more information is needed from the arrested accused”. Prakash said the fraud was likely to go beyond Rs 280 crore and up to Rs 6,000 crore. Besides Nirav Modi, the other accused include his brother Neeshal, wife Ami Modi, and uncle Mehul Choksi — all of whom are partners of Diamonds R US, Solar Exports and Stellar Diamonds. The counsel said they fled the country in the first week of January 2018 before PNB lodged its complaint with CBI. The FIR alleged that Shetty and Kharat during their posting at Brady House, Mumbai, fraudulently issued eight LoUs worth Rs 280 crore on February 9, 10 and 14, 2017, in favour of Allahabad Bank, Hong Kong, and Axis Bank, Hong Kong, without following prescribed procedure.
Meanwhile, CBI on Saturday searched six more places, including PNB's Brady House branch, and questioned six PNB officials to know more about the “larger conspiracy”. This followed Kharat's alleged admission to investigators that issuing LoUs in favor of private companies and sending SWIFT messages to overseas branches of Indian banks was “regularly going on” and “more officers are involved in it”.
The ED continued its raid on premises of Nirav Modi on Saturday, and recovered jewellery that it claimed was worth around Rs 20 crore. Prior to being presented in court the three were taken to a hospital for a medical check. Arguing for custody, CBI prosecutor Om Prakash said the three would be required for a thorough probe. He said the probe could not be completed as the “firms' partners are abroad and more information is needed from the arrested accused”. Prakash said the fraud was likely to go beyond Rs 280 crore and up to Rs 6,000 crore. Besides Nirav Modi, the other accused include his brother Neeshal, wife Ami Modi, and uncle Mehul Choksi — all of whom are partners of Diamonds R US, Solar Exports and Stellar Diamonds. The counsel said they fled the country in the first week of January 2018 before PNB lodged its complaint with CBI. The FIR alleged that Shetty and Kharat during their posting at Brady House, Mumbai, fraudulently issued eight LoUs worth Rs 280 crore on February 9, 10 and 14, 2017, in favour of Allahabad Bank, Hong Kong, and Axis Bank, Hong Kong, without following prescribed procedure.
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