PNB scam: 4 accused sent to CBI custody till March 17

A special court here today remanded four people, arrested in the alleged Rs 12,636-crore Punjab National Bank fraud case, in the CBI custody till March 17. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) arrested them yesterday in connection with the alleged fraud perpetrated by billionaire jeweller Nirav Modi and his uncle Mehul Choksi. They were produced before special CBI judge S R Tamboli. Manish K Bosamiya, then AGM (operations) of Firestar International Ltd. owned by Nirav Modi, and then Finance Manager Miten Anil Pandya were arrested for their alleged role in the preparation of applications for fraudulent Letters of Undertakings (LoUs) submitted to Punjab National Bank. AuditorSanjay Rambhia, partner in the Chartered Accountancy firm Sampat and Mehta, Mumbai, and then Director of Mehul Choksi's company Gili India, Aniyath Shiv Raman Nair, were also arrested in connection with the case yesterday. It was alleged that besides being one of the directors of the Gitanjali group of companies, Nair was the authorised signatory for the applications submitted to PNB for issuance of LoUs and Foreign Letters of Credit (FLCs). It is alleged that Choksi and Modi got LoUs and FLCs of Rs 12,636 crore issued in favour of foreign branches of Indian banks based on fraudulent claims. The CBI lawyer said the agency needed their custody for interrogation and further probe. Meanwhile, the CBI court today remanded six others, arrested in the case last month, in judicial custody till March 19. Vipul Ambani, President, Finance, the Firestar International; Kavita Mankikar, executive assistant and authorised signatory of three firms of Nirav Modi; Arjun Patil, senior executive, Firestar group, were arrested in the case related to the Modi group firms. Kapil Khandelwal, CFO, Nakshatra group and Gitanjali group and Niten Shahi, manager, Gitanjali group, were arrested in the case related to Choksi's firms. Rajesh Jindal was a senior PNB official. All the six were produced before judge S R Tamboli after their CBI remand ended today. While Mankikar's lawyer said she suffered from diabetes, Ambani's lawyer said he suffered from stomach pain and back pain.

The judge, while remanding them in judicial custody, said they should be provided necessary medical help.

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