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Feb 23, 2018 10:36 PM IST | Source: Moneycontrol.com

PNB fraud highlights: PM Modi promises 'strict action' against PNB fraudsters

This blog will give you the latest news and updates on the Rs 11,400-crore PNB fraud case.

  • Feb 23, 09:50 PM (IST)

     PM Modi promises 'strict action' against PNB fraudsters

    Breaking his silence over the Rs 11,400-crore fraud at India's second-biggest public sector bank PNB, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said his government will take stringent action against financial irregularities and not tolerate loot of public money.

    Days after the fraud allegedly masterminded by diamantaire Nirav Modi came to light, the prime minister asked the management of financial institutions as well as the supervisory bodies to do their job diligently to check such frauds.

    "I want to make it clear that this government has been taking strict action against financial irregularities and will continue to take strict action," he said at Global Business Summit. "System will not tolerate loot of public money," Modi said. (PTI)

  • Feb 23, 09:22 PM (IST)

     NCLT grants MCA interim relief, allows freezing properties of 64 respondents

    Moneycontrol’s Tarun Sharma has reported that the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) has granted interim relief to the Ministry of Corporate Affairs for freezing properties of 64 respondents in the Nirav Modi fraud case, including individual and those of his companies, as per section 222 of the Company's Act, Freezing of Securities.

    Punjab National Bank had mentioned 64 individuals in its complaint to the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA). The 64 respondent are Directors of Companies, former directors, key management personnel and the Company Secretary.

    The order gives MCA the permission to attach movable and immovable assets of 114 companies owned or controlled by Mehul Choksi and Nirav Modi, including personal properties of Mehul Choksi, Nirav Modi, Ami Modi and Neeshal Modi.

    The next date of hearing has been set to February 27.

  • Feb 23, 08:06 PM (IST)

    Government didn't act on complaints of Nirav Modi, Mehul Chowki duping common people, alleges Congress

    In a fresh attack, the Congress today accused the NDA Government of complicity in not acting on complaints against PNB fraud accused Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi filed by people who have been duped in Gujarat and elsewhere by the duo, and alleged that they were provided "protection at the highest level".

    Congress spokesperson Shaktisinh Gohil alleged that Nirav Modi and Choksi have not only siphoned off crore of rupees from  India's banks, but have also duped India's middle class and common people of Rs 5,000 crore or more, by floating various schemes.

    He said a new "'Jan Dhan Loot Yojna has unravelled - where Gitanjali Gems promoters floated jewellery investment schemes like Shagun, 'Swarna Mangal Labh' (SML) and 'Swarna Mangal Kalash' (SMK) taking an estimated Rs 5,000 crore of public money". (PTI)

  • Feb 23, 07:34 PM (IST)

    Punjab National Bank (PNB) has reiterate that it has capacity and capability to handle the situation. PNB has also denied reports that it has asked PwC to conduct a probe into alleged fraud, according to CNBC TV18.

    PNB has also denied report that Indian cricketer Virat Kohli will discontinue as the brand ambassador.

    The bank has also called a report that the Reserve Bank of India/ the government has asked them to pay fraudulent amount to other banks, as incorrect.

    PNB has said that no restrictions on the withdrawals have been imposed by the bank and that reports on withdrawal limit of Rs 3,000 for a customer are ‘absolutely incorrect’.

  • Feb 23, 07:08 PM (IST)

    Gitanjali Gems continues to lose sheen, shares plunge 60.5% in 8 days

    Shares of Gitanjali Gems remained weak for the eighth straight session today and have plunged 60.5 percent, eroding its market capitalisation by Rs 450.83 crore, since the Rs 11,400 crore PNB scam came to light.

    The stock declined by 4.98 percent to end at Rs 24.80 — its lowest trading permissible limit for the day today — on BSE.

    On NSE, the stock slipped 4.99 percent to hit its lower price band of Rs 24.75. (PTI)

  • Feb 23, 06:34 PM (IST)

     MCA approaches NCLT to freeze all movable and immovable assets of Mehul Choksi and Nirav Modi

    Moneycontrol’s Tarun Sharma has reported that the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) has approaches National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) to freeze and attach all movable and immovable assets of Mehul Choksi and Nirav Modi.

    The government has sought attachment of 114 companies and their movable and immovable assets. The government is also looking to attach foreign assets of Mehul Choksi and Nirav Modi companies.

    The government is also seeking to attach all the personal assets of Nirav Modi, Ami Modi, Nischal Modi and Mehul Choksi and has sought exparte order in this case.

  • Feb 23, 05:54 PM (IST)

    Need to revisit surveillance system to plug loopholes: Former PNB chief

    Admitting that failure of linkage of SWIFT to core banking system (CBS) could have led to Rs 11,400 crore fraud at Punjab National Bank, the former head of the scam-hit lender today said there was an urgent need for banks to revisit their surveillance system and plug the loopholes.

    Usha Ananthasubramanian, who is now managing director and CEO of Allahabad Bank, said at her bank also SWFIT is not linked to CBS, and the process of linking both the systems is currently on.

    The country's second largest PSU bank has detected USD 1.77 billion scam where billionaire jeweller Nirav Modi allegedly acquired fraudulent letters of undertaking (LoU) from its Brady House branch in Mumbai to secure overseas credit from other Indian lenders. The fraud allegedly started in 2011 at PNB. (PTI)

  • Feb 23, 03:35 PM (IST)

    ICAI asks RBI for data on PSU bank borrowers with over Rs 2,000 crore debt

    The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) has requested the Reserve Bank of India for a list of corporate borrowers from public sector banks with debt of Rs 2,000 crore and above.

    The data will be examined by ICAI's Financial Reporting Review Board for any possible violation of accounting and auditing standards, ICAI said in a statement.

    Meanwhile, ICAI has issued show cause notices to auditors of Punjab National Bank (PNB) and Gitanjali Gems. It has also summoned the Deputy Director of PNB.

    Read our full story here

  • Feb 23, 03:00 PM (IST)

    Watch| Moneycontrol's Beena Parmar and Anchal Pathak discuss the PNB fraud case

  • Feb 23, 02:54 PM (IST)
  • Feb 23, 02:48 PM (IST)

     Finance Ministry asks all PSBs to scrutinise their LoUs

    Sources have told CNBC TV18 that any decision on PSB management rejig will be made by the government and that the Banks' Board Bureau (BBB) has no role to play in the PNB fraud matter.

    The report has also said that the PSB management rejig would only happen after 'responsibility is fixed' by the agencies.

    Banks have been given 180 days after March 1 under the new NPA framework for bad assets. PSBs will report back with a 'certificate' on LoU reconciliation. PSBs have been asked to check on their LoUs as a General Sanitisation Advisory.

  • Feb 23, 01:53 PM (IST)

    EXCLUSIVE | PNB Fraud Case: Nirav Modi, Mehul Choksi web of LLP firms under scanner – Full List

    The Enforcement Directorate, CBI and I-T department have started a probe in a string of LLP firms created by billionaire diamond merchant Nirav Modi and his uncle Mehul Choksi in the Rs 11,400 crore Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud case.

    The agencies are investigating whether or not the web of these Limited Liability Partnership (LLP) firms that Modi and Choksi used to run over the last two decades were used to funnel black money.

    Moneycontrol accessed the list of these companies and found that in many of these companies both Modi and Choksi have exited as directors/partners over the last few years. In a few cases, they have exited as late as 2016, in one case in November 2017.

    Read our exclusive story here

  • Feb 23, 12:36 PM (IST)
  • Feb 23, 12:22 PM (IST)

     Government may ask bank to pay liabilities

    RBI is likely to set April 30 as the deadline for banks to link core operations and SWIFT, news agencies have reported. In addition to this, the government may also ask PNB to pay for the liabilities arising out of the fraud case. It is believed that the government will ask PNB and its peers to determine the liability of the fraud and review their foreign accounts. Allahabad Bank has sent memos to all their branches to link the bank's core operations to SWIFT.

  • Feb 23, 12:07 PM (IST)

    WATCH| Moneycontrol's Tarun Sharma and Anchal Pathak discuss the PNB fraud case.

  • Feb 23, 11:32 AM (IST)

    ED hopes to recover Rs 3,000-4,000 cr by attaching properties of Nirav Modi, Mehul Choksi

    The Enforcement Directorate (ED) hopes to recover Rs 3,000-4,000 crore from properties of Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi, sources told Moneycontrol. This is in addition to the diamonds and precious stones seized by ED, valued at Rs 5,816 crore by Gitanjali Gems.

    As per the assessment of income tax paid, ED believes Choksi and Modi collectively own properties worth up to Rs 4,000 crore.

    The ED has sent all seized diamonds to a laboratory for assessing their value. Along with that, ED has sought a report from income tax department detailing Nirav Modi’s properties.

  • Feb 23, 11:14 AM (IST)
  • Feb 23, 10:56 AM (IST)

    Finance Ministry writes to four Hong Kong banks that received LoUs from PNB

    Finance Ministry writes to four Hong Kong banks that received LoUs from PNB.
    Finance Ministry sources told ANI that they will write to SBI, Axis Bank, Allahabad Bank and Bank of India asking them to reconcile accounts and check for irregularities. The sources added that several regulatory measures are put in place - all banks are to reconcile LoUs given by them,  PSU banks are to appoint special representative or agency to monitor status for all loans above Rs 250 crore, and a consortium can not exceed 7 banks.

  • Feb 23, 10:28 AM (IST)

    PNB tops the list in losing Rs 1,790 crore due to 9 jeweller defaulters: Report

    Punjab National Bank (PNB) tops the list in a data report which shows that gems and diamonds traders have cost banks over Rs 5,000 crore through 90 defaults.

    The Federation of Bank of India Staff Unions (FBISU) compiled data, accessed by The Times of Indiashows that PNB, due to nine defaulters, has lost Rs 1,790 crore earlier.

    Even though the data shows that State Bank of India (SBI) has the most number of defaulters - 15 - the loss incurred by them was Rs 410 crore, still lower than PNB.

    Among other banks, Union Bank of India and Oriental Bank of Commerce also come on top of the list, with nine and eight defaults, respectively.

  • Feb 23, 10:04 AM (IST)

    Punjab National Bank may appoint PwC to investigate fraud

    Punjab National Bank (PNB), which is already reeling under a multi-crore rupee financial fraud, has appointed auditor PwC to conduct an investigation into the alleged Rs 11,300-crore fraud involving two luxury jewellers Nirav Modi, Mehul Choksi and their companies.

    An Economic Times report stated quoting sources that the auditor company has been asked to gather evidence against Nirav Modi and his associates so that it can be presented in court.

  • Feb 23, 09:14 AM (IST)

     Markets| IIFL Institutional Equities told CNBC-TV18 that SBI and Bank of Baroda can provide some comfort among the PSU bank space.

  • Feb 23, 09:08 AM (IST)

     ED issues fresh summons to Nirav Modi, Mehul Choksi and Ami Modi

    ED has refused to accept Nirav Modi's reply and has issued fresh summons to Nirav Modi, Mehul Choksi and Ami Modi, reports CNN-News18. They were supposed to appear on February 22. However, since no one showed up, ED has told them to appear by Feb 26.

  • Feb 23, 08:27 AM (IST)

    ICAI issues show-cause notices to PNB, Gitanjali Gems auditors 

    The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) has issued Show Cause Notices to the auditors of Punjab National Bank (PNB) and Gitanjali Gems in connection with the Rs. 11300 crore scam.

    The statutory body has also summoned the deputy general manager of PNB and sough related documents in the said fraud.

    "The Deputy General Manager, PNB has been summoned in terms of powers as vested in Section 21C of the Chartered Accountants Act 1949 to appear and produce a copy of FIR, all related documents in the said fraud, give details of the modus operandi used in the fraud," the ICAI said in a statement.

    The ICAI has also written letters to Security and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Enforcement Directorate (ED) and Punjab National Bank (PNB), urging them to share details of Rs. 11300 crore PNB scam.

  • Feb 23, 08:11 AM (IST)

    Nirav Modi fraud case could trigger PCA on PNB: Kotak report

    The Rs 11,400 crore fraud detected at Punjab National Bank (PNB) could trigger prompt corrective action (PCA) by Reserve Bank, leading to stoppage in lending by it for sometime, says a report.

    The state-run lender had detected fraudulent transactions worth USD 1.77 billion (Rs 11,400 crore) at one of its branches in Mumbai.

    The transactions were carried out by diamond jeweller Nirav Modi by acquiring fraudulent letters of undertaking (LoU) from the lender's Brady House branch in Mumbai to secure overseas credit from other Indian lenders.

    The lender had said it would honour all 'bonafide' contracts suggesting that some of the claims may be disallowed while the other public banks are suggesting that this may not be the case.

  • Feb 23, 08:09 AM (IST)

    How responsible are India’s lenders? A new report has a few pointers

    The Financial Planning Standards Board India (FPSB) and Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Lucknow have released the “Navigator of Responsible Lending- India” – a first of its kind report on the state of Indian consumer lending sector with respect to responsible lending practices.

    Focusing on small ticket (up to Rs 15,000) personal and consumer durable loans across both banks and NBFCs, the first-of-its-kind research aims to introduce the Indian consumers especially first time borrowers to the concept of responsible lending practices, a press statement said.

    Conducted from July 2017- December 2017, it evaluates the performance of industry along five selected parameters of loan application process, lender’s public information, fees & charges, loan servicing and financial inclusion on the basis of information that a consumer would be able to access in public domain, through his loan journey.

    Read full story here

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