21:02 Mehul Choksi did not respond of summon issued by the Enforcement Directorate on February 15, reports Moneycontrol’s Tarun Sharma.
20:11 Nirav Modi has refused to appear before the Enforcement Directorate after summons were issued to him on February 15, Moneycontrol's Tarun Sharma has reported.
CNBC TV18 has reported that ED’s Mumbai Office has receives an email from Nirav Modi. Nirav Modi has told ED that he is occupied with business activities and so is unable to appear before it. ED is likely to serve fresh summons to Nirav Modi.
19:48 Income Tax Department has attached Gitanjali Group's SEZ property worth Rs 1,200 crore.
17:37 ED seizes Rs 100 crore deposits, luxury cars of Nirav Modi, Mehul Choksi
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has said it has frozen shares, deposits and luxury cars worth over Rs 100 crore of the Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi groups in connection with a money laundering probe against them in the Rs 11,400-crore alleged PNB fraud.
Enforcement Directorate officials said they have frozen mutual funds and shares worth Rs 86.72 crore belonging to Choksi and his group and Rs 7.80 crore owned by the Modi group.
While the total value of these shares and mutual funds is Rs 94.52 crore, the costly four-wheelers are worth a few crore and hence the total seizure value stands to be over Rs 100 crore, the officials said.
The total seizure in the case is now Rs. 5,826 crore, which the agency has said is being independently valued. (PTI)
17:22 The Ministry of External Affairs has said that it does not know the location of Nirav Modi and that ‘he can be anywhere’, according to news reports.
16:39 Enough assets to meet any liability, says scam-hit PNB
State-owned Punjab National Bank (PNB) has said that it has followed lawful avenues to recover its dues following Rs 11,400 crore swindling of funds allegedly by jewellery designer Nirav Modi and associates.
The country's second largest public sector lender also reaffirmed that it has enough assets to meet any liability. (PTI)
15:53 PNB asks Nirav Modi to come up with concrete and implementable plan to repay dues, reports CNN-News18. On the other hand, Nirav Modi has filed a plea in Mumbai's CBI court to free the company's server as the company is not able to work.
11:58 A Finance Ministry official told CNBC-TV18 that they are planning to seek Banks Board Bureau's (BBB) inputs soon on whether a PNB top management rejig is possible.
10:16 ED freezes Rs 94 cr worth MFs, shares of Nirav Modi, Mehul Choksi group
ED seized 9 cars of Nirav Modi and his companies. These cars include one Rolls Royce Ghost, two Mercedes Benz GL 350 CDIs, one Porsche Panamera, 3 Honda cars, one Toyota Fortuner and one Toyota Innova, reports ANI. The body froze Nirav Modi's mutual funds and shares worth Rs 7.80 Crore and Rs 86.72 crore of those belonging to Mehul Choksi Group.
08:26 PNB likely to get recapitalisation hike
The recapitalisation amount set for Punjab National Bank (PNB) is likely to increase as the Rs 11,400 crore fraud case unfolds, reports The Business Standard. The bank's performance metrics are being reviewed to see if it requires being put on the central bank's list for prompt corrective action (PCA), sources told the paper.
Apart from this, a number of reforms have been on the back burner for some time may be expedited. Out of these, privatisation of IDBI Bank, widespread board and management changes in state-owned banks, and tightening of rules governing the internal mechanism and appointment of auditors are the core plans.
“The Reserve Bank of India will have to examine how the fraud affects PNB’s parameters. Whether you like it or not, its recapitalisation will have to be increased,” a senior official told BS. “The central bank will also examine if the bank requires PCA after the latest hit,” the official added.
08:01 PNB adopts strict SWIFT controls after mega fraud
Punjab National Bank has stepped up its controls on the use of global payments network SWIFT following an alleged $1.77 billion fraud, according to memos issued this month and seen by Reuters. The new measures mean only PNB officers will be able to initiate messages on SWIFT, taking away the authority of clerks to do so. Several new limits have been placed on the amount that officers can generate depending on their seniority in the bank hierarchy.
The note sent by the bank’s head office in New Delhi to all regional offices on February 17 also stated any SWIFT message will have to be created, verified and authorised by three different officers, starting Thursday. Previously only two individuals were needed for the process. “In continuation of efforts to strengthen SWIFT operation and deploy additional measures to ensure more effective control, it has been decided to set up SWIFT user base limits,” the note went on to say.
07:58 Recap of the case
What happened?
Over Rs 11,400 crore was siphoned by Punjab National Bank (PNB) issuing LoUs to top Nirav Modi. Bank officials and major diamond merchant Nirav Modi and his accomplices were involved in this case. The bank officials issued the letters to the concerned persons who approached them. The fraud started in 2010, and was detected on 25 January 2018, according to PNB's MD and CEO Sunil Mehta.
What is the latest?
- Moneycontrol’s Tarun Sharma has reported that Niten Shahi and Kapil Khandelwal have been sent to police custody till March 5, according to CBI. Eleven were arrested earlier, some are PNB officials and some are directly linked to Nirav Modi's firm.
- Nirav Modi wrote to PNB where he said they should not have gone public with the case and that it could have been solved between the two parties.He also wrote to his employees saying that he will not be able to recover their dues.
- Nirav Modi's lawyer Vijay Aggarwal said, "When a passport is suspended, a show cause notice is sent by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), once we receive that we will know the reasons behind the suspension."
- Supreme Court has deferred the hearing to March 16 because the Centre opposed the petition. The PIL was filed by Vineet Dhanda which seeks for deportation of Nirav Modi for three years and an investigation of the case.
-Nirav Modi’s counsel has said that CBI has written to the court saying that outstanding amount is not Rs 11,000 crore but is Rs 6,000 crore, reports CNBC-TV18. The counsel also said that PNB was aware of the outstanding loans.
- The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will set up an expert committee to address the rising incidences of frauds and divergences in classification of bad loans.
- On the case, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley blames the banks, the auditors and other authorities.
Mehul Choksi did not respond of summon issued by the Enforcement Directorate on February 15, reports Moneycontrol’s Tarun Sharma.
Nirav Modi has refused to appear before the Enforcement Directorate after summons were issued to him on February 15, Moneycontrol's Tarun Sharma has reported.
CNBC TV18has reported that ED’s Mumbai Office has receives an email from Nirav Modi.Nirav Modi has told ED that he is occupied with business activities and so is unable to appear before it. ED is likely to serve fresh summons to Nirav Modi.
Income Tax Department has attached Gitanjali Group's SEZ property worth Rs 1,200 crore.
ED seizes Rs 100 crore deposits, luxury cars of Nirav Modi, Mehul Choksi
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has said it has frozen shares, deposits and luxury cars worth over Rs 100 crore of the Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi groups in connection with amoney laundering probe against them in the Rs 11,400-crore alleged PNB fraud.
Enforcement Directorate officials said they have frozen mutual funds and shares worth Rs 86.72 crore belonging to Choksi and his group and Rs 7.80 crore owned by the Modi group.
While the total value of these shares and mutual funds is Rs 94.52 crore, the costly four-wheelers are worth a few crore and hence the total seizure value stands to be over Rs 100 crore, the officials said.
The total seizure in the case is now Rs. 5,826 crore, which the agency has said is being independently valued. (PTI)
The Ministry of External Affairs has said that it does not know the location of Nirav Modi and that ‘he can be anywhere’, according to news reports.
Enough assets to meet any liability, says scam-hit PNB
State-owned Punjab National Bank (PNB) has said that it has followed lawful avenues to recover its dues following Rs 11,400 crore swindling of funds allegedly by jewellery designer Nirav Modi and associates.
The country's second largest public sector lender also reaffirmed that it has enough assets to meet any liability. (PTI)
Here's a snippet of PNB's clarification to the stock markets' queries
PNB asks Nirav Modi to come up with concrete and implementable plan to repay dues. On the other hand, Nirav Modi hasfileda plea in Mumbai's CBI courtto free the company's server as the company is not able to work.
Recap:
PNBclosed all options to recover dues by going public:NiravModi
Throwing up his hands, beleaguered businessman Nirav Modi, the alleged kingpin of the largest banking scam in the country's history, has saidPNB's overzealousness shut the doors on his ability to clear the dues.
He also said the dues were much less than what the bank has claimed, and that his relatives booked in the cases filed by the central agencies had nothing to do with the operations of the firms under their scanner.
In a letter Modi wrote on February 15/16 to the Punjab National Bank management, a copy of which PTI has seen, he pegged the money his companies owe to the bank under Rs 5,000 crore.
Bipasha Basu attacks Gitanjali Jewels
According to CNN-News18, she claims, "Gitanjali used my pictures even after my contract ended. My managers tried their best to get them to stop. They used my pictures illegally for 2 years."
Recap:
Moody's places Punjab National Bank's ratings under review for downgrade and Fitch has put PNB under Ratings Watch Negative (RWN) from Viability Rating
PNBtoldCNBC-TV18that they are waiting for the disciplinary authority's reply on the arrest of the bank officials. The bank claims to have followed lawful avenues available to them for recovering their dues fromNiravModi.
A Finance Ministry official told CNBC-TV18 that they are planning to seek Banks Board Bureau's (BBB) inputs soon on whether a PNB top management rejig is possible.
Goldman Sachs cuts price targets for PSU banks post fraud
Goldman Sachs has cut its earnings forecasts and price targets for three of India’s state-run lenders, post detection of the Rs 11,400 crore fraud at Punjab National Bank. It has loweredFY18’s earnings estimate for State Bank of India by 1%, Bank of Baroda by 12% andPNBby 30%, even after taking into account the first tranche of Prime MinisterNarendraModi’s $33 billionrecapitalisationplan in their forecasts. Estimates for 2019 and 2020 were also reduced by similar amounts.
Potential risk aversion and a greater focus on operational controls after the fraud may hamper growth in the near term, the analysts wrote in a note to clients on Wednesday. “We lower our EPS estimates forSBI/BoBlargely on the back of share dilution,” they said. “OnPNB, we see a larger EPS decline as we lower growth after baking in the full impact of the fraud-related liability.” Still, despite the cuts, Goldman sees upside for state-bank shareholders. Its new price targets offer upside of between 12% and 29%.
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Congress seeks Arun Jaitley's resignation on moral grounds
Senior Congress leaderPrithvirajChavanon Wednesday demanded Union Finance MinisterArunJaitley'sresignation on "moral grounds" in connection with the alleged fraud at the Punjab National Bank (PNB), which he said had raised a "big question mark" on the country's banking system.
Chavanalleged thatNiravModi, the billionairediamantairewho is the alleged kingpin of the Rs 11,400-crore fraud, was given a "safe passage" to leave the country by theBJP-ledcentral government, "like it did for VijayMallyaandLalitModi".
NiravModihad left the country last month before the alleged scam came to light.
ED freezes Rs 94 cr worth MFs, shares of Nirav Modi, Mehul Choksi group
ED seized 9 cars of NiravModi and his companies. These cars include one Rolls Royce Ghost, two Mercedes Benz GL 350 CDIs, one Porsche Panamera, 3 Honda cars, one Toyota Fortuner and one Toyota Innova, reports ANI. The body froze Nirav Modi's mutual funds and shares worth Rs 7.80 Croreand Rs 86.72 crore of those belonging to MehulChoksiGroup.
According to Times Now, after ED seized the cars, theyalso seized precious paintings owned by Nirav Modi which include works of Francis Souza, Amrita Sher-Gil, VS Gaitonde, Akbar Padamsee, Bharti Kher andM. F. Husain.
CM Siddaramaiah, BS Yeddyurappa in war of words on Twitter
Karnataka BJP chief BS Yeddyurappa on Wednesday accused Chief Minister Siddaramaiah of allowing Mehul Choksi, a key accused in the PNB fraud case to escape from Karnataka, triggering a war of words on Twitter between them.
Choksi, the managing director of the 'Gitanjali Gems', is also the maternal uncle of billionaire jeweller Nirav Modi, who has been blamed for the colossal Punjab National Bank fraud.
The BJP leader tweeted, "Well well, this 'special someone' (who abandoned Mysuru), did allow the very same fugitive's uncle #ChoksiScam,to escape from Karnataka by flouting the Civil Court Order way back in 2015. This is none other than our own #SleepingChowkidar @siddarmaiah. Is it part of #10PercentCM?"
PNB scam effect: Public sector banks start linking all processes to core banking solutions
Tremors of last week’s Rs 11,400 crore scam atPunjab National Bankseem to have trickled down to other banks as well. Top management of several public sector bankshavebegun conductingreviews,and taking steps tocentraliseall processes linking them to core banking solutions (CBS).
This will help reduce the operational risks that led to the scam atPNB, said bankers of several public sector banks.
Bank of Barodaon Tuesday issued a circular relating to Trade Credit to its zonal heads requesting to instruct the branches under their jurisdiction that they “should not issueLetters of Undertaking (LOU)/ Letters of Comfort (LOC) infavourof overseas supplier, bank or financial institution on behalf of the customers for Trade Crediteffective from today,201thFebruary 2018 till further instructions”.
PNB likely to get recapitalisation hike
The recapitalisation amount set for Punjab National Bank(PNB) is likely to increase as the Rs 11,400 crore fraud case unfolds, reports The Business Standard. The bank's performance metrics are being reviewed to see if it requires being put on the central bank's list for prompt corrective action (PCA), sources told the paper.
Apart from this, a number of reforms have been on the back burner for some time may be expedited. Out of these, privatisation of IDBI Bank, widespread board and management changes in state-owned banks, and tightening of rules governing the internal mechanism and appointment of auditors are the core plans.
“The Reserve Bank of India will have to examine how the fraud affects PNB’s parameters. Whether you like it or not, its recapitalisation will have to be increased,” a senior official told BS. “The central bank will also examine if the bank requires PCA after the latest hit,” the official added.
CBI seals Nirav Modi's farmhouse in Alibaug
The CBI today sealed a luxury property of billionaire Nirav Modi in Alibaug area near Mumbai, officials said.
The 1.5 acre farm house in the uber rich neighbourhood at a stone's throw distance from Arabian sea was purchased by Modi in 2004 for Rs 32 crore for hosting special parties for his clientele to show case his precious jewellery collection, they said.
The area has imposing farmhouses of the creme de la creme of cinema and the business world.
The "haut diamantaire's" expansive farm house, located about 100 km by road from Mumbai in Raigad district also has a 12,000 sq ft bungalow with five bedrooms, a large swimming pool, a movie theatre and a library, they said.
PNB to move out of Nifty Midcap 100 index; Nifty to also see rejig in April
The scam-hit Punjab National Bank (PNB) will move out of the NSE's Nifty Midcap 100 index from April.
Besides, Ambuja Cements, Aurobindo Pharma and Bosch Ltd will be excluded from the Nifty 50 index, while Bajaj Finserv, Grasim Industries and Titan Company will find a place in the index.
The changes were announced today by India Index Services and Products Ltd (IISL), an arm of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) as part of its periodic review.
"These changes shall become effective from April 2, 2018 (close of March 28, 2018)," IISL said in a notice.
PNB adopts strict SWIFT controls after mega fraud
Punjab National Bank has stepped up its controls on the use of global payments network SWIFT following an alleged $1.77 billion fraud, according to memos issued this month and seen byReuters. The new measures mean only PNB officers will be able to initiate messages on SWIFT, taking away the authority of clerks to do so. Several new limits have been placed on the amount that officers can generate depending on their seniority in the bank hierarchy.
The note sent by the bank’s head office in New Delhi to all regional offices on February 17 also stated any SWIFT message will have to be created, verified and authorised by three different officers, starting Thursday. Previously only two individuals were needed for the process. “In continuation of efforts to strengthen SWIFT operation and deploy additional measures to ensure more effective control, it has been decided to set up SWIFT user base limits,” the note went on to say.
Recap of the case
What happened?
Over Rs 11,400 crore was siphoned by Punjab National Bank (PNB) issuing LoUs to top Nirav Modi. Bank officials and major diamond merchant Nirav Modi and his accomplices were involved in this case. The bank officials issued the letters to the concerned persons who approached them. The fraud started in 2010, and was detected on 25 January 2018, according to PNB's MD and CEO Sunil Mehta.
What is the latest?
- Moneycontrol’sTarunSharmahas reported thatNitenShahiandKapilKhandelwalhave been sent to police custody till March 5, according to CBI. Eleven werearrested earlier, some are PNB officials and some are directly linked to Nirav Modi'sfirm.
- Nirav Modi wrote to PNB where he said they should not have gone public with the case and that it could have been solved between the two parties.He also wrote to his employees saying that he will not be able to recover their dues.
- Nirav Modi's lawyer Vijay Aggarwalsaid, "When a passport is suspended, a show cause notice is sent by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), once we receive that we will know the reasons behind the suspension."
- Supreme Court has deferredthe hearing to March 16 because the Centre opposed the petition. The PIL was filed by Vineet Dhanda which seeks for deportation of Nirav Modi for three years and an investigation of the case.
-NiravModi’s counsel has said that CBI has written to the court saying that outstanding amount is not Rs 11,000 crore but is Rs 6,000 crore, reportsCNBC-TV18. Thecounselalso said thatPNBwas aware of the outstanding loans.
-The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) willset up an expert committee to addressthe rising incidences of frauds and divergences in classification of bad loans.
-On the case, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley blames the banks, the auditors and other authorities.
Hello and good morning! This blog will give you the latest updates on the Rs 11,400 crore fraud case.
