Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Two India’s PNB Executives Sacked For Lapses In two billion dollar Fraud

India has sacked two executives of state-run Punjab National Bank (PNB) for allegedly failing to prevent a two billion dollar fraud, two sources said on Sunday (20), nearly a year after the country's biggest bank scam came to light and also dragged the government into the controversy.

The firing of the two executive directors, whom the federal police have accused of breaching central bank guidelines, is the first instance of sacking of the bank's employees since it said that billionaire diamond jeweller Nirav Modi and his uncle had for years fraudulently raised billions of dollars in foreign credit by conspiring with staff at the bank.


Modi and his uncle Mehul Choksi, who left India before the fraud was discovered, have denied the accusations.

In a stock exchange filing late on Friday (19), the country’s second-biggest state bank said the government had removed K Veera Brahmaji Rao and Sanjiv Sharan "from the office of executive director" with immediate effect. The filing did not give a reason.

The government then fired them because "they failed to use global payments network SWIFT to detect the fraud", a bank source said. The sources who had direct knowledge of the matter and declined to be identified because the reasons for the sacking have not been made public.

"They were not able to supervise and there was a dereliction of duty on their part," said one of the sources, a government official.

Phone calls to PNB Chief Executive Sunil Mehta as well as to Rao and Sharan went unanswered.

The 124-year-old bank has in recent months reinstated most of the 21 employees who were suspended immediately after the scam became public because they were not charged by police.

Political Issue

India has issued non-bailable warrants against both Modi and Choksi and Interpol red notices are out too, but their continued evading of the law is being used by India's main opposition Congress party to target prime minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the lead up to a general election due by May.

"Your money, money of our tribal brothers, lower castes, farmers were taken away and you did not even realise," Congress president Rahul Gandhi said in a state election rally late last year. "Nirav Modi fled after taking the money, Mehul Choksi also fled with him."

The BJP, meanwhile, says the fraud began when Congress was in power.

Investigations into the case had been slowed by a public spat between the top-two officials in the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the Indian equivalent of the US FBI, said a source with direct knowledge of the matter.

A CBI spokesman did not have an immediate comment on the matter.

India's Enforcement Directorate (ED), which fights financial crime, has seized assets worth millions of dollars of both jewellers.

A senior ED investigator told Reuters late last year that they were confident both Modi and Choksi would be brought back to the country "soon". He said the Indian embassies in the UK, where Modi is believed to be in, and the one in Antigua, where Choksi is, were in constant touch with authorities with information about them.

"We know fear bells have started ringing there," said the ED investigator, who declined to be named as he was not authorised to talk to reporters. "We want them to be brought back to India before the elections."

A call to the ED office went unanswered.

Reuters

More For You

marks & spencer

M&S has confirmed that its physical stores remain open and operational

Getty

Marks & Spencer suspends online shopping after cyber attack hits systems

Marks & Spencer (M&S) has paused all online orders following a significant cyber attack that has left the company working to restore its systems. The retailer confirmed the cyber incident earlier this week, after customers began experiencing issues with online services last weekend.

While some systems have been brought back online, others remain offline, forcing M&S to stop taking orders through its website and apps. This includes both food deliveries and clothing purchases. The company issued an apology for the inconvenience, acknowledging the disruption and stating that its team, supported by cyber experts, is working tirelessly to resolve the situation.

Keep ReadingShow less
Pakistan airspace curbs push up costs for Indian airlines

FILE PHOTO: Passengers stand in a queue before entering the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport in Mumbai. (Photo by SUJIT JAISWAL/AFP via Getty Images)

Pakistan airspace curbs push up costs for Indian airlines

TOP Indian airlines Air India and IndiGo are bracing for higher fuel costs and longer journey times as they reroute international flights after Pakistan shut its airspace to them amid escalating tensions over a deadly militant attack in Kashmir.

India has said there were Pakistani elements in Tuesday's (22) attack in which gunmen shot and killed 26 men in a meadow in the Pahalgam area of Indian Kashmir. Pakistan has denied any involvement.

Keep ReadingShow less
Campbell Wilson

Air India CEO Campbell Wilson steps down as Air India Express chair

Air India CEO Campbell Wilson steps down as Air India Express chair

AIR INDIA CEO Campbell Wilson is stepping down as chair of Air India Express, the airline’s low-cost subsidiary. He will be replaced by Nipun Aggarwal, Air India’s chief commercial officer, according to an internal memo sent on Tuesday.

Wilson will also step down from the board of Air India Express. Basil Kwauk, Air India’s chief operating officer, will take his place.

Keep ReadingShow less
Air India eyes Boeing jets rejected by Chinese airlines: report

Tata-owned Air India is interested in purchasing jets that Chinese carriers can no longer accept (Photo credit: Air India)

Air India eyes Boeing jets rejected by Chinese airlines: report

AIR INDIA is seeking to acquire Boeing aircrafts originally destined for Chinese airlines, as escalating tariffs between Washington and Beijing disrupt planned deliveries, reported The Times.

The Tata-owned airline, currently working on its revival strategy, is interested in purchasing jets that Chinese carriers can no longer accept due to the recent trade dispute. According to reports, Tata is also keen to secure future delivery slots should they become available.

Keep ReadingShow less
Infosys forecasts lower annual growth after Trump tariffs cause global uncertainty

The IT service firm said its revenue would either stay flat or grow by up to three per cent

Getty Images

Infosys forecasts lower annual growth after Trump tariffs cause global uncertainty

INDIAN tech giant Infosys forecast muted annual revenue growth last Thursday (17) in an outlook that suggests clients might curtail tech spending because of growing global uncertainty.

The IT service firm said its revenue would either stay flat or grow by up to three per cent in the fiscal year through March 2026 on a constant currency basis. The sales forecast was lower than the 4.2 per cent constantcurrency revenue growth Infosys recorded in the previous financial year.

Keep ReadingShow less