PNB Scam: CBI to file Charge Sheet against Chartered Accountants and Other Accused Persons

Chartered Accountants - UDIN

The Central Bureau of Investigation ( CBI ) may file charge sheet against chartered accountants and others who are allegedly involved in the most controversial PNB scam. As per reports in India Today, CBI will file charge sheet by May 15th.

According to sources, CBI will file charge sheet against 19 accused who have been arrested by the agency till date. The investigative agency is expected to file its charge sheet in over Rs 14,000 crore banking scam by May 15.

The CBI chargesheet will name Manish K Bosamiya, then AGM (operations) of Firestar International Ltd. owned by Nirav Modi, and then Finance Manager Miten Anil Pandya, who were arrested by the agency for their alleged role in the preparation of applications for fraudulent Letters of Undertakings (LoUs) submitted to Punjab National Bank.

The chargesheet will include the PNB officials as well as employees and directors of Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi’s firms.

Key accused Gokulnath Shetty (former deputy general manager of PNB), Manoj Kharat (single window operator of PNB) Hemant Bhat (authorised signatory of Modi’s company), Bechhu Tiwari (then chief manager in the forex department of PNB), Yashwant Joshi (scale II manager in forex department), Praful Sawant (scale-I officer handling exports section) will be chargesheeted by the CBI.

Auditor Sanjay Rambhia, chartered accountant and then director of Mehul Choksi’s company Gili India, Aniyath Shiv Raman Nair will also be chargesheet by the CBI.

According to CBI, besides being one of the directors of the Gitanjali Group of companies, Nair was the authorised signatory for the applications submitted to PNB for issuance of LoUs and Foreign Letters of Credit (FLCs).

It is alleged that Choksi and Modi got LoUs and FLCs of Rs 12,636 crore issued in favour of foreign branches of Indian banks based on fraudulent documents.

In February this year, medias reported the irregularities happened in Punjab National Bank (PNB) revealing that the Bank has detected a $1.77 billion (about Rs.11,400 crore) wrongdoing where a Jeweller Nirav Modi allegedly acquired fraudulent Letters of Undertaking (LOU) from a branch of PNB in Mumbai to secure overseas credit from other Indian lenders. These reports further reveal that CBI has since registered a case against Nirav Modi and others on the basis of the complaint filed by PNB.

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