PNB in ~114-bn fraud
Bank names jeweller Nirav Modi and Gitanjali Gems’ Mehul Choksi in one of the biggest scams Core banking system bypassed to issue unauthorised and fraudulent guarantees
In what may turn out to be one of the biggest scams in the country’s corporate history, Delhi-based Punjab National Bank (PNB) said on Wednesday it had been defrauded of about ~114 billion by jeweller Nirav Modi, his maternal uncle Mehul Chinubhai Choksi, and other relatives through a clutch of companies they own.
The country’s secondlargest public sector bank (PSB) said two of its employees were involved in the scam, where the bank’s core banking system was bypassed to raise payment notes to overseas branches of other Indian banks, including Allahabad Bank, Axis Bank, and Union Bank of India, using the international financial communication system, SWIFT.
Three jewellers Gitanjali Gems and its subsidiaries Gili and Nakshatra are also under the scanner of investigation agencies.
Executives in other banks said they were insulated against the fraud, as the payment request was raised by PNB (irrespective of who raised that in the bank), and therefore, the payment would have to be met by the Delhi-based bank.
PNB had overdues slated to be paid on January 25 and subsequently on February 5, which were in default, said Usha Ananthasubramanian, chief executive officer (CEO), Allahabad Bank.
“We do have exposure to PNB, but it is on the bank, and not on the client. The exposure is roughly in the range of ~20-22 billion,” Ananthasubramanian said.
However, PNB in a letter to banks, indicated clearly that it was in no mood to pay back and alleged connivance of employees at the foreign branches of other Indian banks.
In a letter to the chiefs of several banks, a general manager of PNB said the letters of undertakings (LoUs) are were opened in favour of branches of Indian banks for import of pearls for a period of one year, for which the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) guidelines stipulate a total time period of 90 days from the date of shipment.
“This stipulation was overlooked by overseas branches of Indian banks that are also required to follow the RBI guidelines. There is clear criminal connivance of group companies of Nirav Modi and Gitanjali Gems with our branch official and also, apparently, with officials of overseas branches of Indian banks,” the letter said. “None of the overseas branches of India based banks has shared with us any document/information made available to them by these Indian companies at the time of availing buyers’ credit from them,” it added. The banking system is heading towards a protracted legal battle as other banks will start suing PNB over non-payment of dues and refusal to honour commitments. Besides, other banks also have separate exposure to companies owned by Modi, who has shot a mail to the lenders, assuring them that he will return all dues and that his brand, Firestone Diamond, valued at ~105 billion, was up for sale.
The latest fraud uses an ageold method employed to defraud the banking system. It involved LoUs raised at the PNB’s Mumbai office by firms owned by Modi and his family. A LoU is issued by a bank to an importer (in this case Modi). It works like a bank guarantee, which the importer can sell to other banks at a discount. The importer receives the money, or letter of credit, and pays his client. The issuer bank messages overseas branches of other banks through the SWIFT network, and that bank immediately pays the client against the LoU.
The bank that holds the LoU then goes back to the issuer bank (PNB in this case) and gets its due. The issuer bank (PNB) recovers its due against the LoU from its client (Modi). Since the LoUs are used for importing goods and involve foreign currency, a vostro account (client’s overseas account) is used to deposit the credit by the bank accepting the LoU. However, issuance of the LoU involves a lot of process and to mitigate the risks of fraud, banks insist the client deposit an equivalent amount of assets, mainly cash, in the local branch, to avail of the overseas facility.
The fraud shock
The Delhi-based PNB disclosed in a filing to the BSE on Wednesday morning that it detected fraudulent and unauthorised transactions worth around $1.78 billion (approximately ~114 billion) “for the benefit of a few select account holders” with the help of the bank staff based in one of its Mumbai branches. “In the bank these transactions are contingent in nature and liability arising out of these on the bank shall be decided based on the law and genuineness of the underlying transactions,” the bank said, adding it had reported the matter to the investigating agencies.
PNB share prices fell 9.8 per cent to ~145.80 on Wednesday. On Monday evening, PNB filed two fresh complaints with the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). In one, the bank alleged involvement of a jewellery company. CBI sources said they were still undecided if they would want to file a fresh first information report (FIR) on the latest complaints, or merge them with their previous FIR. Separately, Gitanjali Gems, headed by Choksi, who was also named in the first FIR, postponed its board meeting scheduled to be held on Wednesday that was supposed to approve its thirdquarter results for this financial year.
“I do not think this is out of control or too big a worry at this point. That is my broad sense,” Joint Secretary in the Department of Financial Services (DFS) Lok Rajan told Press Trust of India on the sidelines of an event in Delhi. The finance ministry has sought details about fraudulent transactions involving this case or related incidents by the end of this week and in a fresh missive has asked all banks to undertake a clean-up drive. DFS Secretary Rajiv Kumar said this seemed to be an isolated case and would not impact other banks.