CBI Special Court extends judicial custody of 11 accused including Gokulanath Shetty, Vipul Ambani in #PNBScam

NewsBharati    29-Mar-2018
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Mumbai, March 29: A special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Wednesday extended judicial custody of 11 accused including Gokulanath Shetty and Vipul Ambani till 11th April in connection with the Rs 12,700-crore Punjab National Bank loan fraud case involving billionaire jeweler Nirav Modi.

 

Notably, former Punjab National Bank Deputy Manager Gokulanath Shetty, Firestar International’s president (finance), Vipul Ambani and nine others were involved in cheating the Punjab National Bank. All the accused were arrested by the CBI in the month February and March this year.

Meanwhile, ED arrested Shyam Sunder Wadhwa, a vice president of Firestar Group of companies in connection with the mega scam. On Saturday last week, ED attached properties worth Rs 26 crore in the PNB fraud case. Jewelry of 15 crores, good quality clocks worth Rs 1.40 crores and paintings worth Rs 10 crores, including MF Hussein, K. Hebber, and Amrita Shergil's artwork along with 10 diamond rings were seized.

After registering a separate case against Mehul Choksi, the ED came into action. So far, ED has raided 251 properties across the country and seized diamonds, gold, precious stones, and beads. Earlier ED had also attached 7,638 crores of Nirav Modi Group and Mehul Choksi Group.

BACKGROUND:

The biggest fraudulent case hit Mumbai last month where Punjab National Bank reported that it has detected fraudulent and unauthorized transactions in one of its branches in Mumbai. The cumulative fraud amounts to US $1,771.69 billion i.e. Rs 11,378.68 Crores.

After the scam was unveiled, the Enforcement Directorate registered an FIR under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act and conducted raids after the surfacing of the alleged fraud by billionaire diamond trader Nirav Modi and his Mumbai-based firms Diamonds R Us, Solar Exports and Stellar Diamonds.

On the other side, the CBI also registered fresh FIRs against 10 directors of the Gitanjali Group of companies on charges of criminal conspiracy and cheating under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Prevention of Corruption Act, including Mehul Choksi, the Managing Director of Gitanjali Gems Ltd based in Mumbai's Walkeshwar. The FIR also named two former bank employees said to be directly involved in the fraudulent transactions.

Intensifying the probe, CBI sealed Brady House branch of Punjab National Bank in Mumbai from where the Rs 11,378.68 Crores PNB scam was originated. The action is based on EDs raid at over 45 more locations in 15 cities across India in connection with the multi-crore Punjab National Bank (PNB) scam.

The ED on Friday and Saturday last week also conducted raids at 35 and 21 locations across India respectively in connection with the fraud involving around Rs 11,300 crore and has seized diamonds, gold and jewellery worth Rs 5,674 crore.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of External Affairs decision was based on the advice of the Enforcement Directorate (ED), which filed money laundering cases against Modi and Choksi in relation to the alleged Rs 11, 400 crore PNB fraud. MEA has also asked Modi and Choksi to respond within one week and justify why their passports should not be revoked.

Importantly, Nirav Modi and his brother Nishal Modi left the country on 1st of January this year. Nirav Modi's wife, an American citizen, left India on 6 January while Mehul Choksi left the country on 4 January. CBI received a complaint from PNB on 29th Jan 2018and registered the case on 31st January.