I was forced to approve Choksi’s loan, claims former bank director

A former director of a nationalised bank, Dinesh Dubey, has spilled the beans about the political patronage that Nirav Modi and Gitanjali Group’s Mehul Choksi enjoyed. A former Allahabad Bank Director, Dubey, has revealed that back in 2013, he was pressurised by the government to sanction a loan to the billionaire diamond merchant and his partner.

In fact, Dubey had sent a dissent note against Gitanjali Gems – part of the Gitanjali group which is owned by Choksi – to the government and the Reserve Bank of India, but it did not elicit any response.

Dubey says that even after his note, he was directed to approve the loan. He ultimately resigned as he was not ready to oblige Choksi’s firm.

Responding to Dubey’s claims, Union Minister Prakash Javadekar hit back at the Congress and questioned the role of the then Finance Secretary under UPA government. He said, “Instead of taking action, the Finance Secretary during UPA’s regime forced Dinesh Dubey to resign. We are asking who pressurised the Finance Secretary to pressurise Dubey.”

Javadekar, at a press briefing on Friday, also said it is the alertness of the NDA government which has brought this scam into the spotlight. ‘‘All the NPAs, the wrongful distribution of loans, were passed down to us by the Congressled UPA government,’’ he alleged. Javadekar further emphasized that the PNB is a scam by the bank and not by the government.

Rajiv Takru, the former banking Secretary, in his response to ex-Allahabad Bank Director Dinesh Dubey’s claims, said: “I met this person (Dinesh Dubey) only once in my life. He had come to my office to resign in 2013. The reason for the resignation was that he was unhappy over something. I accepted his resignation. I have never spoken to him.”