PNB fraud: ED takes custody of ex-deputy manager Gokulnath Shetty

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday obtained the custody of former deputy manager of Brady House branch of Punjab National Bank (PNB), Gokulnath Shetty, in connection with the PNB fraud case.

Shetty was arrested by Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) last month and was in judicial custody.

After obtaining production warrant from the special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court, ED arrested Shetty on Thursday and produced him before the court.

ED, which is the agency probing the allegation of money laundering, sought Shetty’s custody claiming that he is one of the key accused and knows crucial facts.

It is claimed that during Shetty’s posting at foreign exchange department, Letters of Undertaking (LoUs) to various companies of Nirav Modi were sanctioned without following due process.

ED claimed that Shetty appears to be a key conspirator and an actor in laundering of money generated through LoUs.

The agency now wants to confront Shetty with the statement of other suspects and witnesses and records gathered by it. The plea was objected by Shetty’s lawyer Niranjan Mundargi. Shetty is the second person arrested by ED. Earlier, ED arrested Shyam Sunder Wadhwa, vice president (finance) of M/s Firestar Group and a close confidante of jeweller Nirav Modi.