Some of the former employees of the bank who colluded in the scam too would be arrested soon, the SP said.
Tag: Punjab National Bank
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Properties worth Rs 500 crore of Nirav Modi firms restored to Punjab National Bank
By PTI
MUMBAI: A special court here on Friday allowed ‘restoration’ of properties worth Rs 500 crore of fugitive jeweller Nirav Modi’s firms to Punjab National Bank (PNB).
This is the third such order in a span of about two weeks, with the total value of properties owned by Nirav Modi’s companies being restored in this manner now standing at approximately Rs 1,000 crore.
Nirav Modi, who was declared a ‘fugitive economic offender’ in December 2019, and his uncle Mehul Choksi are accused of committing a Rs 14,000 crore scam by obtaining credit facilities fraudulently from the PNB, and several of the former’s properties, as well as that of his kin, were attached by the Enforcement Directorate.
Earlier, the court had allowed two pleas seeking the release of properties of Firestar International (FIL) worth Rs 108.3 crore and of Firestar Diamond International Private Ltd (FDIPL) worth Rs 331.6 crore after the PNB, in July this year, filed multiple applications seeking the release of the properties mortgaged with the bank against the credit facilities extended to these two firms.
PNB had filed the applications as an individual claimant and also as the lead bank of the PNB consortium and authorized representative of the UBI consortium.
Nirav Modi is currently lodged in a UK jail and is fighting extradition to India.
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Court allows return of Nirav Modi’s confiscated assets to Punjab National Bank
By PTI
MUMBAI: A special court here has allowed “restoration” of properties worth Rs 440 crore of fugitive jeweler Nirav Modi, confiscated by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), to the Punjab National Bank (PNB).
Nirav Modi and his uncle Mehul Choksi are accused of committing a Rs 14,000 crore scam by obtaining credit facilities fraudulently from the PNB, a public sector bank. The order was passed by VC Barde, special judge for Prevention of Money Laundering Act, last week.
The detailed order became available on Thursday.
The PNB in July 2021 had filed multiple applications seeking release of the properties mortgaged with the bank against the credit facilities extended to Nirav Modi’s two firms, Firestar Diamond International Private Ltd (FDIPL) and Firestar International (FIL).
The applications were filed by PNB as an individual claimant and also as lead bank of the PNB consortium and authorized representative of the UBI consortium. The court allowed two pleas seeking the release of properties of FIL worth Rs 108.3 crore and those of FDIPL worth Rs 331.6 crore. “The claimants’ (banks) quantifiable loss has been recognized by the DRT (Debt Recovery Tribunal) who has passed judgments in their favor,” the court noted.
During its probe, the ED attached several properties owned by Nirav Modi though his family members and these companies. Several of the properties were confiscated after he was declared a “fugitive economic offender” in December 2019.
The bank and lenders’ consortium had objected to the confiscation, as the properties had been mortgaged with them when Modi and Choksi availed of Letters of Undertaking (LOUs). The court has now also directed the PNB to give an undertaking to return the properties or their value if directed in future.
Nirav Modi and Choksi along with some bank officials are accused of cheating the Punjab National Bank of Rs 14,000 crore by obtaining LoUs fraudulently. LoUs are issued as a guarantee for the applicant to seek loans from overseas Indian banks.
Nirav Modi is currently lodged in a UK jail and is fighting extradition to India.
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PNB scam accused Vipul Chitalia gets bail for attending family ceremony
By PTI
MUMBAI: A special CBI court here on Thursday granted temporary bail to the Gitanjali group’s vice president Vipul Chitalia, an accused in the Punjab National Bank (PNB) scam, to attend a pre-marriage ceremony of his daughter.
Chitalia, arrested in March 2018 in connection with the scam in which diamond traders Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi are the prime accused, is in judicial custody at the Arthur Road Jail.
He had sought bail to attend a ceremony ahead of his daughter’s marriage.
Special judge V C Barde allowed him to attend the ceremony at his residence in suburban Borivali in police escort on August 14 and 15, as per the court order.
Choksi and Nirav Modi are accused of obtaining Letters of Undertaking (LoUs) and Foreign Letters of Credit (FLCs) of Rs 12,636 crore from the PNB based on fraudulent claims, and causing the nationalized bank a huge loss.
An LoU is a guarantee given by an issuing bank to Indian banks having branches abroad to grant short-term credit to the applicant.
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Will keep making efforts to pursue Nirav Modi’s early extradition to India from UK: MEA
By PTI
NEW DELHI: After fugitive diamond merchant Nirav Modi lost the first stage of his extradition appeal in the UK High Court, the Ministry of External Affairs on Thursday said it has noted the decision and will continue its efforts to pursue his early extradition to India to face justice.The UK High Court’s decision came over two months after the wanted diamond merchant’s extradition to India was ordered by UK Home Secretary Priti Patel in the Punjab National Bank (PNB) scam case.
Asked about Nirav Modi’s extradition at an online media briefing, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said, “We have noted yesterday’s decision of the United Kingdom (UK) High Court against his plea to appeal against the extradition order.”
“We will continue our efforts to pursue his early extradition to India to face justice,” he said.
A high court official confirmed that the permission to appeal was “rejected on paper” on Tuesday, which left the 50-year-old jeweller with a chance for his lawyers to make his case at a brief oral hearing in the high court with a renewed “leave to appeal” application for a judge to determine if it can proceed to a full appeal hearing.
To a question on diamond merchant Mehul Choksi, Bagchi said the Indian side is in touch with Dominican authorities regarding the legal proceedings underway there against him.
“I don’t have any immediate update to share,” he added.
A Dominican magistrate court adjourned till June 25 the hearing into alleged illegal entry of Choksi into the Caribbean island nation, local media there had reported earlier last week.
Choksi and his nephew Nirav Modi had fled India in the first week of January, 2018, weeks before the scam in the PNB rocked the Indian banking industry.
Nirav Modi escaped to Europe and was finally held in London where he is contesting his extradition to India, while Choksi took citizenship of Antigua and Barbuda in 2017 where he was staying since his escape from Delhi.
Choksi, 62, had mysteriously gone missing on May 23 from Antigua and Barbuda.
He was detained in neighbouring island country Dominica on May 23 for illegal entry after a possible romantic escapade with his rumoured girlfriend.
His lawyers alleged that he was kidnapped from Jolly Harbour in Antigua by policemen looking like Antiguans and Indians and brought to Dominica on a boat.
To a separate question on 24-year-old Vishal Jood, who is lodged in an Australian prison reportedly over his alleged hand in a series of hate attacks on suspected pro-Khalistan Sikhs in Sydney this year, Bagchi said the matter is now sub-judice in Australia.
“I know that consular access to Vishal Jood was granted on June 17 and our high commission is in touch with the Australian authorities,” he said.
Responding to another question on the status of extradition of radical preacher Zakir Naik to India from Malaysia, Bagchi said there is no immediate update on the Zakir Naik issue.
“Talks have been going on with Malaysian authorities for his extradition. We will share an update when there is one,” the MEA spokesperson said.
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PNB fraud: Warrant against Nirav Modi’s sister, brother-in-law kept in abeyance
By PTI
MUMBAI: A special PMLA court on Thursday kept in abeyance the warrant issued against the sister and brother-in-law of fugitive diamond merchant Nirav Modi till further orders.Modi’s sister Purvi and her husband Maiank Mehta had “turned approvers” in the USD 2 billion PNB fraud case, in which Modi and his uncle Mehul Choksi are the prime accused.
The couple had approached the court in February for cancellation of non-bailable warrants (NBWs) issued against them, on the grounds that they had turned approvers in the case.
Modi, who is currently lodged in a UK prison, Choksi and others are being probed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the Punjab National Bank (PNB) money laundering case since 2018.
Purvi (47) is a Belgian national, while her husband is a British citizen, and the couple, who are stated to be based abroad, have never joined the probe in the case.
Purvi was arraigned as an accused in the case, where multiple chargesheets have been filed by the ED and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
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Court denies bail to retired bank official in PNB scam case
By PTI
MUMBAI: A special court here on Saturday denied bail to retired bank official Gokulnath Shetty, a key conspirator and prime accused in the Punjab National Bank (PNB) scam case.Shetty was arrested in March 2018 for allegedly playing a key role in the Rs 13,700-crore loan fraud while working as a deputy manager at PNB’s Brady House branch in Mumbai.
Special judge for cases under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) V C Barde rejected Shetty’s bail plea.
The scam came to light when jewellery firms of prime accused Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi approached the Brady Road branch of the PNB in January 2018, seeking Letters of Understanding (LoU) for payment to suppliers.
The bank realised that LoUs were being issued to these firms fraudulently for seven years by bypassing its core banking system, and Shetty was allegedly instrumental in this.
An LoU is a guarantee given by the issuing bank to overseas branches of Indian banks to grant short-term credit to an applicant, and in case of loan default, the bank issuing the LoU has to honour the liability.
Efforts are on to bring back Modi and Choksi to India from abroad to face trial in the case, which is being probed by the Enforcement directorate and CBI.
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Punjab National Bank gave the Collector a mask and sanitizer for the convenience of the people
Collector Shri Mahaved Kavre was sent to his Collector Room today by Punjab National Bank Jashpur Branch. Sanitizer and mask were given under The collector gave thanks to Punjab National Bank for this. On this occasion, Superintendent of Police Shri Balaji Rao, Forest Divisional Officer Shri Krishna Javadh, Lead Bank Officer Shri P. Oriya and Mr. Hemant Kumar Ekka were present.