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 case Union 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.
PNB loses Rs 8,731 cr market cap in 3 sessions
Punjab National Bank (PNB) has lost market capitalisation (m-cap) worth Rs 8,731 crore after shares of the company slumped for the third straight session following the detection of a Rs 11,400-crore fraud.
At the end of today's trading session, the shares of the company fell 2.10 per cent to Rs 125.65 apiece. The stock had slumped 6.03 per cent intraday to its 52-week low of Rs 120.60.
Following the downtrend, m-cap of the company slumped by Rs 654.91 crore to Rs 30,477.50 crore.
In the last three trading sessions, the company m-cap saw a total erosion of Rs 8,731.5 crore. This is more than 6-times of the company's full-year net profit of Rs 1,324 crore recorded in FY 2016-17.
The quantum of fraud itself is more than 8-times the bank's annual profit. The stock hit its 52-week low on both BSE and NSE today.
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.
4 officials of Punjab National Bank are being examined by CBI, reports ANI.
Role of former PNB Chairman under CBI scanner. Whistleblower named ex-PNB chief for surpassing Nirav scam, reports CNN-News18.
UPDATE| ED has registered fresh FIR against Gitanjali Group of Companies. An FIR was filed after a fresh complaint was made by PNB on February 13.
ED has started searches at 50 different places including Lucknow and Patna, reports Moneycontrol's Tarun Sharma.
ICAI to look into auditors' role
Chartered accountants' apex body ICAI will review the USD 1.77 billion fraud at Punjab National Bank to look at whether there have been lapses on the part of auditors and has sought information from investigation agencies as well as from markets regulator Sebi. ICAI President Naveen N D Gupta said it has taken suo motu cognisance of the fraud at Punjab National Bank. "The Financial Reporting Review Board (FRRB) has been advised to "initiate suo motu review" of Punjab National Bank and Gitanjali Gems (matter)," he told PTI. The board, set up by the institute, reviews the compliance with various accounting and auditing standards.
If all the layers of this scam are opened up, the scam will go up to Rs 30,000 Crore. Modi govt's new buzz word 'Udaan' has found a new meaning - 'every scamster can flee & fly undetected & unchecked: Randeep Surjewala, Congress
Following the money trail is very difficult especially if it goes overseas as you have multiple transactions and for each transaction, you have to send a letter rogatory, it can take months and even years: Former CBI director AP Singh tells reporters.
SEBI launches probe into trading, disclosure issues at PNB, Gitanjali Gems
Markets regulator Sebi has launched a probe into trading and disclosure related issues in the matter of Punjab National Bank and Gitanjali Gems in connection with over Rs 11,000 crore banking fraud allegedly perpetrated by absconding Nirav Modi. “Sebi accords utmost importance to market conduct and integrity. Anyone found violating the securities laws will be dealt with firmly”, a regulatory official said. Incidentally, in July 2013, NSE in consultation with Sebi had debarred Gitanjali Gems chief and main promoter Mehul Choksi among others from trading, for securities market violations relating to trading in his company. The
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.
Bank of Baroda told the CNBC-TV18that they "Don't think the exposure to Gitanjali Gems & Nirav Modicos is above Rs 425-450 crore."
Planning to maintain current stake in PNB despite the fraud, LIC Chairman told CNBC-TV18.
JUST IN| SBI discloses USD 212 million exposure through PNB
Nirav Modi, PNB Fraud hashtags trends on Twitter as case unfolds
A number of people have expressed their opinionon Twitter regarding one of the biggest bank frauds that was reported in the second largest PSB on Wednesday.
ThePunjab National Bankscam has opened a can of worms for the banking sector and it is getting murkier by the day.
The hashtags #NiravModi and #PNBfraud were in play on Twitter all day long as the names of accused involved majordiamond merchant such as Nirav Modi, Mehul Choksi.
MEA revokes Nirav Modi, Mehul Choksi 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."
Over 50 Nirav Modi-linked companies will be raided: Finance Ministry sources to ANI
Fresh CBI FIR involves 143 LoUs and 224 foreign letters of credit, which are separate from the earlier 150 LoUs relating to the FIR dated 31 January 2018.
CBI believes that in this case the alleged loss to PNB is estimated at Rs 4886.72 crores, reports Moneycontrol'sTarun Sharma.
CBI has reached former PNB Deputy Manager Gokulnath Shetty's residence in Malad. Shetty has been untraceable since few days, reports ANI.
A finance ministry official has told CNBC-TV18 that they will start probe on 36 firms linked to Gitanjali Gems post-PNB scam.
On the other hand, Moneycontrol's Tarun Sharma reported that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has registered an FIR againstMehul Choksi'sGitanjaliGroup of companies on the complaint of Punjab National Bank (PNB).CBI is conducting searches at locations of Gitanjali Group Companies at 20 places in 6 cities across the country.
Searches at locations belonging to Gitanjali group of Mehul Choksy,Other directors of the accused companies and other group factories also raided. Searches being conducted in Maharashtra(Mumbai and Pune), Gujarat(Surat), Raj(Jaipur), Telangana (Hyderabad) & TN (Coimbatore).
I just spoke to the PNB Scam whistleblower Hari Prasad. He says he alerted PMO India in 2016. Also, the CEO's meet with PM Modi was carefully selected. Nirav Modi was one of them, Sakiat Datta tweeted.
PNB fraud case is unlikely to impact PNB's Rs 5,000 cr recapitalisation plan: Report
Recapitalisation of PNB will not be impacted by fraud case, the bank will get its recapitalisation share of Rs 5000 crore, as allocated earlier, Finance Ministry sources told ANI
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.
Whistleblower Hari Prasad SV had alerted PMO of possible PNB scam in a 2016 letter
Today’s biggest news – thePunjab National Bankfraud – is something that could have made headlines over a year ago. It appears that authorities at various levels ignored an early sign of the multi-crore scam.
On July 26, 2016 Bangalore based entrepreneur Hari Prasad had written to the prime minister’s office (PMO) drawing the attention of the authorities towards what he thought could lead to a huge scam. According to Prasad, the balance sheets clearly gave out all the details.
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, adiffusion 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.
PNB Fraud: Privatise more banks, says Stern School of Business Dean Rangarajan Sundaram
With the recent Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud case, Stern School of Business Dean Rangarajan Sundaram told CNBC TV-18 that he was startled, but not surprised by the case.
He explained that the fraud was bound to happen because banks need a better risk management system and said that he has seen bigger heists in other trading rooms.
Sundaram questioned the existence of public sector banks by saying that investors find private banks attractive
and that there is no reason for holding on to nationalised banks. He went on to say, " The only way forward should be discipline of the market and it is time to be more aggressive and try privatising more banks."
Sundaram explained that volatility is a symptom of markets adjusting to a new reality
and said that asset prices have been inflated because money was cheap. "
It is a difficult period for the financial market and it is a period of adjustments that we have to take," he added.
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.
JUST IN| Nirav Modi spotted in New York, according to Times Now. Yesterday, reports said that he may have been in Switzerland.
A Nirav Modi jewellery showroom at Defence Colony area of New Delhi on Thursday. Enforcement Directorate is conducting searches at Nirav Modi's home, showrooms and offices in Mumbai, Delhi and Surat following Punjab National Bank's (PNB) complaint of massive fraudulent transactions to benefit the celebrity jeweller. (PTI)
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.
Quick Recap:
The CBI has sought revocation of the passports of billionairejewellerydesignerNiravModiand his partnerMehulChoksiwho 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.
NiravModi, who holds an Indian passport, left India on January 1, while his brotherNishal, a Belgian citizen, departed from the country on same day.
However, whether theytravelledtogether has to be probed, they said.
NiravModi'swife Ami, a US citizen, left on January 6 and his uncle and business partnerChoksi, the promoter of Gitanjalijewellerychain, 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.
Union Bank says it has $300m exposure to PNB fraud case
Union Bank of Indiasaid 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 ofreceivingpayment.
