The CBI said the fraud went on for over eight years without being checked, which it said was unusual.
A SPECIAL Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court on Saturday sent 11 accused in the Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud case to judicial custody.
The accused, including officials of PNB and those connected with the companies of diamond merchants Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi, were arrested by the CBI earlier for their roles in issuing or benefiting from the fraudulent letters of understanding (LoUs) from the bank without following bank guidelines.
The CBI said the fraud went on for over eight years without being checked, which it said was unusual. “The offences are not against a body or individuals and they are not committed out of a spur of the moment but they are calculated to destroy the economy of the country. The public money is swindled in thousands of crores causing damage to the public at large,” the CBI said in its remand application, claiming that the cascading effect of the offence is manifold.
It said that according to the complaint of PNB, there are more than 150 LoUs issued in 2017 amounting to Rs 6,498 crore which are companies owned by Modi falling due with effect from January 25, 2018 to April 20, 2018.
It further said that if the accused are released on bail, they will tamper with witnesses. The court sent all accused to judicial custody till March 28.