Thank you for joining us in our coverage of the Rs 11,400 crore PNBfraud case today. Stay tuned for more updates as well as any breaking news related to the case.
18:45 According to a notice issued by the Income Tax department, 21 bank accounts belonging to Nirav Modi's Firestar Diamond International Pvt Ltd have been attached as a part of the investigation into the Rs 11,400 crore fraud reported by state-owned Punjab National Bank.
18:27 The management, however, said that the exact amount of liability has not been ascertained yet and is only estimated at Rs 11,400 crore. Yesterday, a source in Enforcement Directorate said that the authority will try to ascertain if the fraud amount exceeded that number.
18:24 The bank's management also pointed out that PNB has a lot of resources and non-core assets at its disposal to help it get out of this problem.
18:23 In the conference call, the lender said that only one of its branches has reported such a fraud and that it has checked its other branches for the same. It maintained that this was a standalone case.
18:15 India Inc today called for swift and strict action against the companies who have allegedly defrauded Punjab National Bank, while expressing concern over the vulnerability of lenders.
PNB has detected USD 1.77 billion (about Rs 11,400 crore) scam where billionaire jeweller Nirav Modi allegedly acquired fraudulent letters of undertaking (LoUs) from a branch in Mumbai to secure overseas credit from other Indian lenders.
16:02 Sources told CNN-News18 that transactions between India and 5 countries including USA, UK, Malaysia, Singapore and China are being closely monitored. In the last one year, Nirav Modi allegedly started parking all his money through multiple layers where he made transactions at inflated prices. Some transactions are being suspected to be with fictitious companies & are being scrutinized by the agencies. According to their sources in CBI, Nirav Modi had already made plans to leave the country with his family a year ago. However, he had to postpone his plan due to demonetisation.
14:35 Full statement from the Ministry of External Affairs on revocation of Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi's passports
"On the advice of the Enforcement Directorate, the Passport issuing authority in the Ministry of External Affairs has today suspended the validity of passports of Mr. Nirav Deepak Modi and Mr. Mehul Chinubhai Choksi with immediate effect for a period of four weeks u/s 10(A) of the Passports Act 1967.
Mr. Nirav Deepak Modi and Mr. Mehul Chinubhai Choksi have been asked to respond within one week as to why their passports should not be impounded or revoked under Section 10 (3) (c) of the Passports Act 1967. If they fail to respond within the stipulated time it will be assumed that they have no response to offer and the MEA will go ahead with the revocation."
11:51 PNB fraud: ED summons Nirav Modi, Mehul Choksi in money laundering probe
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday issued summons for appearance to billionaire diamond merchant Nirav Modi and his business partner Mehul Choksi in connection with its money laundering probe in the Rs11,400 crore alleged fraud in Punjab National Bank (PNB), officials said.
They said both Modi and Choksi were summoned under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and asked to depose within a week’s time.
The notices were handed over to the directors of the firms of the two businessmen as they were not in the country.
While Modi runs the jewellery brand chain under his name, Choksi is the promoter of Gitanjali Gems.
The ED had registered a PMLA case against them and others based on a CBI FIR which was the result of a PNB complaint.
11:23 8 employees of Punjab National Bank suspended, the number of suspended employees now stands at 18, which also includes General Manager level officers. Internal investigation of the bank is still underway.
10:58 JUST IN| INTERPOL's diffusion notice issued against Nirav Modi, his wife Ami Modi, brother Nishal Modi & Mehul Choksi, reports ANI. Among other INTERPOL notices, a diffusion notice is less formal than a notice. It is used to request the arrest or location of an individual or additional information in relation to a police investigation. By definition, a diffusion is circulated directly by a member states or international entity to the countries of their choice, or to the entire Interpol membership and is simultaneously recorded in Interpol’s databases.
10:00 ED seizes diamonds, jewellery worth Rs 5,100 crore
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) conducted searches in multiple properties linked to billionaire jewellery designer Nirav Modi in Mumbai, Delhi and few other cities and seized diamonds, jewellery and gold worth Rs 5,100 crore, agency officials said.
The raids came after the ED filed a money laundering case of alleged fraud of Rs 280-crore against Modi, his wife Ami, brother Nishal and business partner Mehul Choksi and others yesterday, following a complaint by Punjab National Bank (PNB).
"The ED searched 17 premises across India of Nirav Modi and Geetanjali Gems in a case related to fraud in PNB. Stocks of gold, diamond and precious stones worth Rs 5,100 crore were seized," the central probe agency said in a statement.
09:55 JUST IN| Nirav Modi spotted in New York, according to Times Now. Yesterday, reports said that he may have been in Switzerland.
09:49 Only Rs 2 crore of Rs 11,000 crore insured for PNB, says report
With only an indemnity policy in hand, PNB is believed to be getting only a Rs 2 crore insurance after being hit by more than Rs 11,400 crore fraud, according to The Economic Times.
09:17 CBI seeks revocation of passports of Nirav Modi, Mehul Choksi
The CBI has sought revocation of the passports of billionaire jewellery designer Nirav Modi and his partner Mehul Choksi who are the main accused in alleged fraudulent transactions of over Rs 11,400 crore through 150 letters of understanding issued by the Punjab National Bank, officials told PTI.
Nirav Modi, who holds an Indian passport, left India on January 1, while his brother Nishal, a Belgian citizen, departed from the country on the same day. However, whether they travelled together has to be probed, they said.
Nirav Modi's wife Ami, a US citizen, left on January 6 and his uncle and business partner Choksi, the promoter of Gitanjali jewellery chain, left on January 4, the officials said. The delay in filing of complaint by the bank left limited options for the agency with one of them being revocation of proceedings, they said.
The bank claimed that it became suspicious only on January 16 when the accused companies -Diamond R US, Solar Exports and Stellar Diamonds (all accused in the CBI FIR) - approached it with import documents and a request to issue Letters of Understanding (LoUs) for raising buyers' credit for making payments to the overseas suppliers.
09:14 Quick Recap:
The CBI has sought revocation of the passports of billionaire jewellery designer Nirav Modi and his partner Mehul Choksi who are the main accused in alleged fraudulent transactions of over Rs 11,400 crore through 150 letters of understanding issued by the Punjab National Bank, officials said.
Nirav Modi, who holds an Indian passport, left India on January 1, while his brother Nishal, a Belgian citizen, departed from the country on same day.
However, whether they travelled together has to be probed, they said.
Nirav Modi's wife Ami, a US citizen, left on January 6 and his uncle and business partner Choksi, the promoter of Gitanjali jewellery chain, left on January 4, the officials said.
The delay in filing of complaint by the bank left limited options for the agency with one of them being revocation of proceedings, they said.
The bank claimed that it became suspicious only on January 16 when the accused companies — Diamond R US, Solar Exports and Stellar Diamonds (all accused in the CBI FIR) -- approached it with import documents and a request to issue Letters of Understanding (LoUs) for raising buyers' credit for making payments to the overseas suppliers.
The bank, however, could not find any past entries in the system, the FIR has alleged. It approached the CBI on January 29 with a complaint of Rs 280 crore fraud, officials said.
08:50 Union Bank says it has $300m exposure to PNB fraud caseUnion Bank of India said it has a $300m exposure to the Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud case. The bank in a statement to the exchanges said it has been taking exposure via foreign branches with PNB as counter-party. It reassured that it is fully secured by Letters of Undertaking (LoU) and other documents and is confident of receiving payment.
Thank you for joining us in our coverage of the Rs 11,400 crore PNBfraud case today. Stay tuned for more updates as well as any breaking news related to the case.
According to a notice issued by the Income Tax department, 21 bank accounts belonging to Nirav Modi's FirestarDiamond International Pvt Ltd have been attached as a part of the investigation into the Rs 11,400 crore fraud reported by state-owned Punjab National Bank.
The management, however, said that the exact amount of liability has not been ascertained yet and is only estimated at Rs 11,400 crore. Yesterday, a source in Enforcement Directorate said that the authority will try to ascertain if the fraud amount exceeded that number.
The bank's management also pointed out that PNB has a lot of resources and non-core assets at its disposal to help it get out of this problem.
In the conference call, the lender said that only one of its branches has reported such a fraud and that it has checked its other branches for the same. It maintained that this was a standalone case.
In a conference call today, Punjab National Bank said that it is facing some problems at the moment that it intends to fix. The lender has said that it will return to normalcy within six months from now.
India Inc today called for swift and strict action against the companies who have allegedly defrauded Punjab National Bank, while expressing concern over the vulnerability of lenders.
PNB has detected USD 1.77 billion (about Rs 11,400 crore) scam where billionaire jeweller Nirav Modi allegedly acquired fraudulent letters of undertaking (LoUs) from a branch in Mumbai to secure overseas credit from other Indian lenders.
CBI found diamonds at Surat factory, handed over to ED, reports CNN-News18.
My contract got over a year ago. That is something not related to us. I have nothing to say on it: Sidharth Malhotra, Actor on Nirav Modi tells reporters.
Finance Secretary during UPA's regime, instead of taking action, forced Dinesh Dubey to resign. We are asking who pressurised the Foreign Secretary to pressurise Dinesh Dubey?: Union Minister Prakash Javadekar tells reporters.
3 main companies named in the FIR have 36 subsidiary companies. Out of those 36 companies, 17 are in Mumbai, 1 in Hyderabad and rest of the companies are located out of India. Companies in India are being investigated by CBI today, reports ANI.CBI is carrying out searches in 26 places across India after naming 3 companies in fresh FIR registered in PNB fraud case.
The scam which has come into light is a scam of the UPA Govt. This started during UPA's reign in 2011: Union Minister Prakash Javadekar tells reporters.
