PNB Fraud Case: CBI Registers Fresh Case Against Gitanjali Group Of Mehul Choksi.

The Central Bureau of Investigation has registered a fresh case against Gitanjali group of Mehul Choksi, the uncle of billionaire Nirav Modi, for allegedly causing a loss of Rs.4,887 crore to the Punjab National Bank.
Mr. Choksi had flown out of the country on January 4, while Mr. Modi, his wife and brother left by January 6. The CBI has got Interpol diffusion notices issued to its member countries to determine their current locations.
In the fresh FIR, the CBI has named Mr. Choksi and his three companies, Gitanjali Gems, Gili India and Nakshatra Brand Limited.
The amount is part of fraudulent transactions worth ₹11,500 crore reported by the bank. Mr. Choksi is also an accused in the first case registered on January 31 by the CBI involving more than ₹280 crore. The agency is conducting searches at 20 places in six cities across five States.
“The searches are being carried out on the premises of Gitanjali group of companies and their directors in Mumbai, Pune, Surat, Rajasthan and Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu,” said a CBI official.
The agency has alleged that Mr. Choksi’s companies got issued unauthorised Letters of Undertaking and Foreign Letters of Credit through the then Deputy Manager Gokulnath Shetty and his subordinate at the bank’s Brady House sub-corporate branch in Mumbai. These guarantee letters were used for release of funds by the overseas branches of Indian banks to the accused companies’ suppliers or to clear their other liabilities.