An Enforcement Directorate team conducting search at a jewellery shop in Thane on Monday. Deepak Joshi
The director of Enforcement Directorate (ED), Karnal Singh on Monday said the agency has requested the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to submit it statutory audit reports of Punjab National Bank (PNB) since 2011. Singh said the agency will examine the RBI audit reports in connection with its on-going money laundering probe in the alleged Rs 11,400 crore fraudulent transactions at the state-owned bank.
Singh said at least 39 locations connected with Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi, promoter of Gitanjali Gems were searched on Monday. In Mumbai alone, at least 10 locations were searched. ED has seized diamonds, gold, precious stones/metals and jewellery worth Rs 22 crore on the fifth day of its raids, Singh said.
Read | PNB Fraud: Auditor Deloitte rang alarm bells on Nirav Modi two years ago
With this the total seizures of the agency now stands at Rs 5,716 crore. Singh, however, said the value of the seizures is based on the book value. “We are getting an independent valuation done of the assets seized by us. Our first priority is to secure the proceeds of crime in the case,” said Singh who visited the agency’s regional office in Mumbai to take stock of ED’s progress in the alleged PNB fraud.
On Monday, the ED also examined the top brass of PNB to understand the banking process involved in issuance of letter of undertakings (LoUs). Apart from this Singh said, the agency has summoned Modi, Choksi, a few of the company officials of their firms and mid-level officials of PNB for interrogation.
Read | Inside the Punjab National Bank fraud: What an LoU is, how case may impact the bank
“It is too early to comment on the involvement of top bank officials of PNB in the fraud. We have to first understand the whole process, if the policy guidelines were proper and if there was any breach,” said Singh.
Enforcement Directorate sleuths at one of Nirav Modi’s showroom in New Delhi on Thursday. (Express Photo: Tashi Tobgyal)
According to Singh, Modi has been asked to appear before the agency in person by February 22.
“We have not heard from him (Modi) till now. In case he fails to appear before ED, we will take a call on whether to issue another summon to him,” said Singh.
Read | In December, Nirav Modi’s firm was moving to go public, raise funds
Singh said the agency has also recorded the statement of Hari Prasad, who claimed that he had sent a complaint to the Prime Minister’s Office regarding alleged bank frauds being committed by Nirav’s maternal uncle Mehul Choksi way back in 2016. “He (Hari Prasad) said he has been cheated by Modi and a number of others too have been cheated,” said Singh.
In picture, Nirav Modi
On January 31, the CBI booked Modi, his wife Ami, brother Nishal and Mehul Choksi, in connection with a Rs 280 crore cheating case after receiving a complaint from PNB on January 29.
According to the complaint, two PNB employees had “fraudulently” issued eight letters of undertakings (LOU) and “transmitted SWIFT instructions to the overseas branches of Indian Banks” to raise buyers credit of Rs 280 crore for Modi’s firms without “making entries in the bank system”.
Rs 18-crore assets seized in Kolkata
Kolkata: The Enforcement Directorate has seized assets worth Rs 18 crore from raids at jewellery stores across the city in relation to the alleged bank fraud by Nirav Modi and his firms. “The raids began on Friday and are still on. So far jewellery worth Rs 18 crore have been seized”, an official said. —ENS
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