CBI examines PNB CEO, executive director in Nirav Modi case

NEW DELHI: Probing the 11,300-crore fraud by diamond czars Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi on Punjab National Bank, the CBI examined the bank's managing director and CEO Sunil Mehta and executive director KV Brahmaji Rao on Saturday.
Sources said the examination is focused on unravelling the crime - how it was detected by the bank and other procedural issues and violations. Mehta and Rao are not suspects in the case, officials said. More directors may be soon be called for examination.

Mehta and Rao were quizzed about the procedures of sanctioning credit, the role of the top management in high-value loans, issuance of letters of undertaking and foreign letters of credit, internal monitoring of a branch's pending dues with the borrowers and how the crime was detected by the bank, sources said.

As MD, Sunil Mehta is responsible, along with other directors, for formulating policies of PNB and ensuring that its periodic disclosures with the regulatory agencies contain fair, timely and meaningful disclosures, sources said.

About Brahmaji Rao, officials said he handles the treasury, risk management division and monitoring of accounts with exposure of above 50 crore, and recovery from the Mumbai, Lucknow, Meerut, Agra and Shimla zones of PNB. "The Brady House branch, Mumbai, where deputy manager Gokulnath Shetty worked comes under Rao," said an officer.

CBI has so far arrested six officials - Shetty, general manager Rajesh Jindal, single-window operator Manoj Kharat and Bechhu Tiwari, Yashwant Joshi and Praful Sawant from the "SWIFT" division.

The agency has also arrested corporate executives working for Nirav Modi's companies, including Vipul Ambani (president, finance, of Firestar Diamond), executive assistant Kavita Mankikar and senior executive Arjun Patil.

The executives of Nirav Modi’s uncle Mehul Choksi’s companies, including Kapil Khandelwal (CFO of Nakshatra group and Gitanjali group), and Niten Shahi (manager of Gitanjali group) have also been arrested by the CBI.