PNB scam: CBI grills more bank officials

The CBI has questioned senior officials of the Bank of India, Axis Bank and Allahabad Bank in connection with its probe in the over Rs 13,000 crore PNB scam case involving billionaire diamantaire Nirav Modi and his uncle Mehul Choksi.

Agency sources said about five officers, in the ranks of general manager and above, have been grilled by the agency in the last few days to understand how the Letters of Undertaking (LoUs) and Foreign Letters of Credit issued by the Punjab National Bank (PNB) in this case were executed vis-a-vis Modi's businesses. These officers, they said, were responsible for the operations of the Bank of India's Antwerp branch in Belgium and the Axis Bank and Allahabad Bank branches in Hong Kong. The officials are based in India. They said more such officials could be summoned by the agency. The CBI has alleged that firms controlled by Nirav Modi and Choksi obtained fraudulent LoUs and letters of credit (LCs), worth over 13,000 crore, from PNB in connivance with some officials of the bank.

Customers’ money

Meanwhile, Punjab National Bank on Monday said money of customers is safe and asserted that there would be zero tolerance towards unethical practices. Urging customers not to believe in any rumours, the bank assured that they can withdraw or deposit their money anytime. The lender has come out with a detailed set of FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions) seeking to address concerns of customers in the wake of the recent fraud.