The CBI on Saturday questioned Punjab National Bank (PNB) Managing Director Sunil Mehta and Executive Director KV Brahmaji Rao in Mumbai in connection with Rs 14,000 crore fraud case even as the ED attached 21 immovable properties worth Rs 523.72 crore of one of the accused diamantaire Nirav Modi and companies controlled by him under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

While the Ministry of External Affairs revoked passports of Nirav and promoter of Gitanjali Group Mehul Choksi after the duo did not respond to its notice, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley termed the PNB scam as “worrisome” that not a single red flag was raised when the fraud was perpetuated. Also, worrisome is “top managements who were indifferent to what was going on or were unaware of what was going on,” he said at an event.

The attached assets of Nirav include a farmhouse in Alibag, Solar Power Plant, 135-acre land in Ahmednagar and six residential and 10 office properties in Mumbai and Pune. With the latest action, the total assets seized by the agency, in this case, are now over Rs 6,393 crore, ED officials claimed, adding that this was being independently valued.

“Mehta and Rao were called for questioning to seek clarification about the fraud. Details will be made available later,” said CBI officials. While Rao has held the chair since January 2014, Mehta has been at the post since May 2017.

The CBI has already quizzed 12 PNB officials and made several arrests. They are being confronted with the documents seized in the searches.

ED officials said it has issued a provisional order for attachment of the Nirav’s assets, under the PMLA and seized a Rs 81.16 crore-valued penthouse (created by joining three flats) and a flat worth Rs 15.45 crore in sea-facing Samudra Mahal apartments in Mumbai’s Worli area .

A farmhouse and adjoining land, worth over Rs 42.70 crore, in the Kihim area of beach-side Alibaug of the Nirav Modi Trust has also been attached. Similarly, a 53-acre solar power plant, valued at Rs 70 crore, in the Karjat area of Ahmednagar district of the State has also been brought under the same action. Two office properties worth about Rs 80 crore, in the name of Mark Business Enterprises Private Limited in the Lower Parel area of Mumbai, have also been attached.

The MEA said it had suspended the validity of their passports with immediate effect for a period of four weeks on February 16 and given one week’s time to them to respond as to why their passports should not be impounded or revoked. “Since they have not responded so far, their passports have been revoked,” a Ministry source said, noting that in its notice to Nirav and Choksi, the Ministry had made it clear that their passports would be cancelled if they failed to respond.

Earlier, the ED had frozen shares and mutual funds worth Rs 100 crore Nirav and promoter of Gitanjali Group Mehul Choksi in connection with the case. The ED is also probing 140 shell companies in which Nirav and Choksi were directors and money was transferred at various stages.

In a related developmentm, Gitanjali Gems owner Choksi has, in a communication to its over 3,500 employees, said it would be “very tough” to clear dues of his employees or pay future salaries, as investigative agencies had seized his bank accounts and other properties, adding that the manner of investigation was starting to create havoc, and was hell-bent on stopping the operations.

Choksi, in his letter issued by his advocate Sanjay Abbott, suggested to employees that in view of the uncertainty looming overpayment of dues, termination of office operations, and “unfair investigation”, they begin scouting for alternate career options.