The latest fraud is a failure of management supervision and accountability, as no bad debt was generated and no cash was involved
With the entire fraud amount becoming a non-performing asset, around 25 per cent of the bank's estimated net worth of Rs 40,000 crore could be affected.
Decades apart, but the drama linked to the two appears similar, says Nivedita Mookerji.
"Fitch Ratings has placed Punjab National Bank's (PNB) Viability Rating of 'bb' on Rating Watch Negative (RWN), following the large fraud reported by PNB," the US-based agency said in a statement.
From hitting the 1,000-mark on July 25, 1990 to reaching the 60,000-mark for the first time on Friday, it has been a historic and memorable journey for the benchmark index Sensex. It has taken a little over 31 years for the Sensex to traverse from 1,000 level to the famed 60,000 level now. Over the years, the frontline index has climbed several record levels. The index had reached the 10,000-mark for the first time on February 6, 2006.
The chargesheet, filed in a special court in Mumbai, also names several other top officials of the bank.
The 12,000-page charge sheet further claimed that a similar fraud was detected in 2016 following which the RBI took up the issue and issued circulars to all banks.
The I-T department also attached 34 bank accounts and fixed deposits, valued at Rs 1.45 crore, of the Gitanjali group.
While PNB did not name the other lenders, Union Bank of India, Allahabad Bank and Axis Bank are said to have offered credit based on letters of undertaking (LOUs) issued by PNB. Foreign bank branches too are under investigation.
Wanted diamond merchant Nirav Modi appeared via videolink from his London prison for a regular call-over hearing at Westminster Magistrates' Court on Friday, when he was further remanded in custody until February 25, when the judgment in his extradition case is to be handed down. District Judge Angus Hamilton informed Modi that he would most likely be appearing again via videolink on the day of the ruling, which will decide whether the 49-year-old jeweller has a case to answer before the Indian courts on fraud and money laundering in relation to the Punjab National Bank (PNB) scam case. Last month, District Judge Samuel Goozee had confirmed the timeline for the judgment at the end of closing submissions in the case, during which he heard that Modi is responsible for overseeing a "ponzi-like scheme" that caused enormous fraud to PNB.
They said the global arrest warrant against the Belgian national Nehal, 40, has been issued on charges of alleged money laundering that is being probed by the Enforcement Directorate.
RBI seeks detailed report on what happened between 2011 and now; bankers to recall loans to Nirav Modi entities.
The event will also hurt PNB's asset quality in the March 2018 quarter. While the finer details of the fraud have not been provided, making it difficult to gauge the exact impact, analysts say it will dent the bank's financials.
The authorities have received the opinion of structural engineers, and would start removing exotic fittings, valuable fixtures, window grills and other utensils, as per their advice. They also found cushions, glass frames, a plush swimming pool and a spa, furniture made from Burma teak.
Firestar Diamond, which on its website states that its operations span the US, Europe, the Middle East, the Far East and India, blamed liquidity and supply chain challenges.
The CBI on Wednesday directed him to contact the embassy of India in a country where he is staying so that his travel to India can be arranged
Taking to Twitter, Gandhi posted, "The scamster's escape formula: La(Mo) + Ni(Mo) ---(with) Na(Mo)---> Bha(Go)", while using the hashtag "#ModiRobsIndia".
The 49-year-old jeweller, wanted in India on charges of fraud and money laundering in the estimated USD 2-billion Punjab National Bank (PNB) scam case, further remanded in custody during a routine call-over hearing held via videolink at Westminster Magistrates' Court in London.
Choksi said that the ED has attached his properties illegally.
With a UK court ruling in favour of the extradition of fugitive diamond merchant Nirav Modi, wanted in India on charges of fraud and money laundering in Punjab National Bank (PNB) scam case, Mumbai's Arthur Road jail has kept a special cell ready to lodge him, an official said on Friday.
A high court judge in London on Monday granted fugitive diamond merchant Nirav Modi permission to appeal against a magistrates' court order in favour of extradition to India to face charges of fraud and money laundering before the Indian courts on mental health and human rights grounds. Justice Martin Chamberlain delivered his verdict remotely under COVID-19 rules to conclude that the arguments presented by the 50-year-old diamond merchant's legal team concerning his "severe depression" and "high risk of suicide" were arguable at a substantial hearing. He also noted that the adequacy of the measures capable of preventing "successful suicide attempts" at Arthur Road Jail in Mumbai, where Nirav Modi is to be detained upon extradition, also fall within the arguable ambit.
Subhash Shankar Parab, a key accused in the Rs 7,000 crore diamantaire Nirav Modi bank fraud case, was "deported" from Cairo on Tuesday after a long diplomatic and legal process, officials said in New Delhi. A CBI team had gone to Egypt's capital to bring back 50-year-old Parab, who was allegedly kept in illegal confinement in a Cairo suburb by Modi, the fugitive diamantaire, they said. The CBI had been chasing Parab, deputy general manager (finance) in Modi's Firestar Diamond and understood to be a key witness to the Letters of Undertaking (LoU) submitted to the Punjab National Bank (PNB) to siphon off over Rs 7,000 crore, they said.
Banks will also have to seek borrower's status report from Central Economic Intelligence Bureau on the account turning NPA
Fugitive diamond merchant Nirav Modi, wanted in India in connection with the estimated $2-billion Punjab National Bank (PNB) scam case, was on Tuesday further remanded in custody until January 7 by a UK court hearing his extradition case. The 49-year-old businessman, who has been behind bars at Wandsworth Prison in south-west London since his arrest last year following India's extradition request for him, appeared via videolink for a routine 28-day remand hearing on Tuesday before Westminster Magistrates' Court in London. The final hearings in the extradition case are scheduled over two days, on January 7 and 8 next year, when District Judge Samuel Goozee is scheduled to hear closing arguments from both sides before he hands down his judgment a few weeks later.
Wanted diamond merchant Nirav Modi, whose extradition to India was ordered in April by UK Home Secretary Priti Patel in the estimated USD 2-billion Punjab National Bank (PNB) scam case, has lost the first stage of his extradition appeal in the high court in London.
Modi, a diamond jeweller whose designs have been worn by Hollywood stars, is now believed to be running a new business, which describes itself on the UK's Companies House register as a wholesale trader in watches and jewellery and a retailer of watches and jewellery in specialised stores.
Nirav Modi, the fugitive diamond merchant wanted in India to face charges of fraud and money laundering in the estimated $2-billion Punjab National Bank (PNB) scam case, has lodged his appeal against extradition from the UK and the case will be heard at the high court in London on December 14. The 50-year-old jeweller, who remains behind bars at Wandsworth Prison in south-west London since his arrest in March 2019, was granted permission to appeal against the Westminster Magistrates' Court extradition order on mental health and human rights grounds. High court judge Martin Chamberlain had ruled on August 9 that arguments presented by Modi's legal team concerning his "severe depression" and "high risk of suicide" were arguable at a substantial hearing.
In its letter, finance ministry has pointed to sections 35, 35A and 36 of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949, to highlight the powers and functions of the RBI as regulator
The continuation appeal hearing in the extradition case of Nirav Modi, the fugitive diamond merchant wanted in India to face charges of fraud and money laundering amounting to an estimated $2-billion Punjab National Bank (PNB) scam case, is listed to be heard in the high court in London on June 28. The 51-year-old diamond merchant had lodged an appeal against his extradition order on mental health grounds. "The hearing is listed for the 28th June," confirmed the Royal Courts of Justice administrative office last week.
The 49-year-old jeweller, fighting extradition in the estimated $2-billion Punjab National Bank (PNB) scam case, will appear via videolink from Wandsworth Prison in south-west London for the latest hearing in the case, during which District Judge Samuel Goozee will hear his defence team's arguments against the admissibility of certain evidence provided by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Enforcement Directorate (ED) in order to establish a prima facie case against the accused.
Nirav Modi, the fugitive diamond merchant wanted in India to stand trial on fraud and money laundering charges, told a UK court on Thursday that he could be in England for years as some ongoing proceedings prevent his extradition. The 52-year-old former billionaire appeared for a hearing at Barkingside Magistrates' Court in east London via video link from Thameside prison in relation legal costs, or fines, amounting to GBP 150,247.00, accrued over his failed extradition appeal proceedings in the London high court. Dressed in a pink prison-issue outfit and sporting a moustache, a plump and bald Nirav addressed the three-member magistrates' bench to reveal that he had complied with the previous court direction to pay in GBP 10,000 per month towards the fines.
The billionaire jeweller, who has fled the country, in the letter also disagreed with the loan default amount of Rs 11,400 crore and pegged the amount his companies owe to the bank at under Rs 5,000 crore.
The 50-year-old jeweller, who remains behind bars at Wandsworth Prison in south-west London, had lost the first stage of the high court appeals process last week as a judge declined permission to appeal "on the papers". Modi's lawyers had five days to file a renewal application seeking an oral hearing to plead the case for permission to appeal against the extradition ordered by UK Home Secretary Priti Patel on April 16.
Nirav Modi, wanted in connection with the estimated $2-billion Punjab National Bank (PNB) scam case, was further remanded in custody on Tuesday by a court in London hearing India's extradition request for the diamond merchant. The 49-year-old appeared on Tuesday via videolink from Wandsworth Prison in south-west London, dressed in a maroon sweater and sporting a full beard, for his regular 28-day "call-over hearing" at Westminster Magistrates' Court, where Chief Magistrate Emma Arbuthnot extended his remand for another 28 days until December 29.
A local civil court in Hyderabad has issued an interim stay restraining Netflix from airing its web series Bad Boy Billionaires-India on a petition filed by B Ramalinga Raju who was convicted in the multi-crore accounting scandal of Satyam Computer Services Limited. The XXV Additional Chief Judge B Prathima, while issuing notices to Netflix Inc in USA, Netflix Entertainment Services India LLP and the nodal officer, department of electronics and information technology, posted the matter for further hearing on November 18 when the plea came up on Tuesday.
A UK judge presiding over the extradition proceedings of Nirav Modi on Tuesday ruled that the evidence submitted by the Indian authorities to establish a prima facie case of fraud and money laundering against the fugitive diamantaire is broadly admissible. District Judge Samuel Goozee heard the arguments for and against the admissibility of certain witness statements provided by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Enforcement Directorate (ED) at Westminster Magistrates' Court in London and concluded that he considered himself "bound" by the previous UK court rulings in the extradition case of former Kingfisher Airlines chief Vijay Mallya. He then adjourned the case for a two-day hearing on January 7 and 8 next year, when he will hear the final submissions in the case before he hands down his judgment a few weeks later.
'Four weeks have passed after the scam was exposed, yet no big guy has been arrested.' 'This gives the impression that he wants to be soft on the biggies.'
The Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday continued raids for the seventh day as it visited 17 locations across the country, including four shell companies in Mumbai, even as the Income Tax department attached assets worth Rs 145 crore in the alleged Rs 11,400-crore Punjab National Bank fraud.
The move takes the process of extraditing and bringing back Nirav Modi to face the law in India to the next stage, the sources said.
Nirav Modi, the fugitive diamond merchant wanted in India to stand trial on fraud and money laundering charges, on Thursday suffered another setback in his legal battle against his extradition as the high court in London denied him permission to appeal against his extradition order in the UK Supreme Court. In a judgment order pronounced at the Royal Courts of Justice in London, Lord Justice Jeremy Stuart-Smith and Justice Robert Jay ruled that "the Appellant's (Nirav Modi) application for permission to appeal to the Supreme Court is refused".
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