Rs 114-bn PNB fraud: Gitanjali Gems shares plunge over 56% in six days

Within a week of the surfacing of $1.8 billion Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud, Gitanjali Gems' stock has nosedived over 56 per cent.

It fell for a sixth consecutive session on Wednesday. The stocks of the jewellery company plunged by 9.85 per cent to close at the lower circuit of Rs 27.45 per share on Wednesday.

Market capitalisation of the company stood at Rs 3.25 billion, down from Rs 6.9 billion.

However, PNB shares gained for the second consecutive day after losing heavily for the past few sessions, following the news of the multi-crore fraud detected in the bank. The stock closed higher by 0.47 per cent at Rs 117.10 per share.

The shares of the two companies had started to decline following the country's second largest state-run bank PNB's declaration of unearthing a fraud of Rs 113 billion involving diamantaire Nirav Modi.

The fraud, which included money-laundering among others was related to the Firestar Diamonds group in which the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has booked Modi, his wife Ami, brother Nishal Modi and uncle and business partner Mehul Choksi - the promoter of luxury jewellery brand Gitanjali Gems.