CBI arrests 3 more PNB officials CVC meets PNB officials, seeks report on why fraud remained hidden
NOOSE TIGHTENS Officials are accused of overlooking ‘illegal acts’ committed by key accused in the ₹11,400crore fraud case
NEW DELHI: The CBI on Monday arrested three more officials of the Punjab National Bank (PNB) in connection with its probe into the alleged ₹11,400-crore fraud case involving businessman Nirav Modi and his maternal uncle, Mehul Choksi.
“The CBI has arrested Bechhu Tiwari, chief manager of the bank’s forex department; Yashwant Joshi, scale two manager in the same department; and Praful Sawant, scale one officer in the export department,” said an agency spokesperson.
Three people – retired deputy manager Gokulnath Shetty, suspended single window operator Manoj Kharat and Nirav Modi’s alleged accountant Hemant Bhatt – were held earlier.
The spokesperson said Tiwari was responsible for supervising the work of Shetty and his manager to ensure the entry of authorised SWIFT messages only from the PNB’S core banking system (CBS). The official seemed to have full knowledge of the retired deputy manager’s activities, he added. SWIFT is a messaging system used for inter-bank dealings.
The spokesperson said Joshi was also responsible for supervising Shetty, and ensuring that SWIFT and CBS entries were filed on a daily basis. “It is alleged that Joshi did not take any action despite having complete knowledge of Shetty’s activities either. The third person, Sawant, was responsible for checking SWIFT messages every day ,” he added.
The CBI is conducting raids on their residences located in Navi Mumbai, Andheri and Dombivili, besides scrutinising travel records of the billionaire NEW DELHI: Central Vigilance Commission’s (CVC) chief KV Chowdary on Monday met senior officials of Punjab National Bank (PNB) to enquire how the ₹11,400 crore fraud, allegedly involving jewellery designer Nirav Modi and his uncle Mehul Choksi, went undetected for almost seven years.
The meeting of the PNB top management with Chowdary and vigilance commissioner TM Bhasin lasted for almost two hours. Finance ministry officials were also present in the meeting. The chief vigilance commissioner and his colleague asked the PNB to submit a report in this regard, said a person familiar with the discussions who asked not to be named.
“The CVC asked about nonlinking of the Core Banking System of the bank with the SWIFT system (a messaging system used for inter-bank transactions) at PNB,” the person said.
The CBI has said that due to non-linking of Core Banking system with the SWIFT system, bank officials in connivance with Nirav Modi’s companies managed to perpetuate the alleged fraud and keep it hidden.
The bank officials informed the CVC about the action taken after the detection of fraud and the steps taken against officials who did not perform their supervisory roles, said the person.
Besides meeting the PNB and finance ministry officials, the CVC also met a superintended of police of Bank Security and Fraud Cell of the CBI.