| Case | PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK FRAUD CASE - 2018 |
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Perpetrators |
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| About NIRAV MODI |
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| About MEHUL CHOKSI |
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| Case Description and Events |
The case relates to fraudulent letter of
undertaking worth ₹14,356.84
crore (US$
2.1 billion) issued by the Punjab
National Bank at
its Brady House branch in Fort, Mumbai;
making Punjab National Bank liable for
the amount. Nirav Modi and his family absconded in early 2018, days before the news of the scam broke in India. |
| Sep 26, 2018 | In a writ filed at the High Court on 26 September 2018, the Union Bank of India claimed that Nirav Modi guaranteed two loans made to Firestone Trading Private on October 21, 2011 and Firestar Diamond on November 15, 2011. The bank demanded that Nirav Modi pay more than $5.49 million plus interest after both firms allegedly defaulted on repayments. |
| Sep 07, 2018 | One of the accused of the Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud, Nitin Shahi filed an application in a special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court to book PNB as an additional accused in the case. |
| Aug 31, 2018 | A Los Angeles entrepreneur, Paul Alfonso, filed a US$4.2 million lawsuit in Los Angeles against Modi and two of his now defunct companies namely Firestar Diamond Inc. and A. Jaffe Inc. |
| Aug 20, 2018 | Former MD and CEO of Allahabad Bank, Usha Ananthasubramanian was granted bail by Special CBI court in Mumbai. A week earlier, the government had dismissed Usha on the last day of her work. She was MD of Punjab National Bank between August 2015 and May 2017 and had also served as its executive director. |
| Aug 02, 2018: | Republic TV news reported that Mehul Choksi has admitted about his loose alliance with the Congress party. |
| Jun 21, 2018 | Republic TV news reported that Red Corner Notice had been issued against Modi and Choksi. |
| Jun 13, 2018 | CBI approached the Interpol to issue a red corner notice (RCN) against Nirav Modi's brother Nishal and one of his executives in connection with its probe into the Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud. The CBI sent a request to the Interpol to issue a RCN also against Nirav Modi and his uncle Mehul Choksi of the Gitanjali Group. |
| Jun 2018 | He was reported to be in the UK and had applied for political asylum in Britain. |
| May 21, 2018: | The enforcement directorate (ED) attached Nirav Modi’s bank accounts and properties worth Rs171.26 crore. |
| May 18, 2018 | By this day, the scam amount stood at Rs.14357 Crores (US$ 2.1 billion). |
| May 2018 | CBI and the ED registered two FIRs each to probe the case. Both Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi are said to have left the country before criminal cases were lodged against them. |
| Apr 2018 | It was alleged Nirav Modi had found safe haven in Hong Kong. |
| Mar 2018 | Nirav Modi applied for bankruptcy protection in Manhattan, New York. |
| Mar 12, 2018 | The government introduced the Fugitive Economic Offenders Bill in the Lok Sabha. |
| Mar 08, 2018 | Mehul Choksi accused the investigating agencies of abuse of the due process in the PNB fraud investigation. He expressed his inability to return to India and join the probe due to the suspension of his passport and ill-health. CBI issued fresh summons to Nirav Modi and his uncle Mehul Choksi to join the PNB fraud investigation. |
| Mar 07, 2018 | His firm Firestar Diamond Inc. applied for bankruptcy protection at a Manhattan bankruptcy court, in order to protect its assets in the United States and their revolving credit facility with Israel Discount Bank. |
| Mar 06, 2018 | Mar 06, 2018: CBI arrested a vice president of Gitanjali group. Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) met executives from Axis Bank, ICICI Bank over their respective exposures in Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi’s companies |
| Mar 04, 2018: | CBI reportedly made four more arrests; two former employees of Nirav Modi’s Firestar International, an auditor of Nirav Modi’s group and a former director of a Mehul Choksi’s company. |
| Mar 03, 2018 | Allahabad Bank disclosed its exposure to the fraud at about $367 million. |
| Mar 01, 2018 |
PNB appointed BDO India as forensic
auditor for five group companies
belonging to Nirav Modi. CBI arrested another former PNB internal auditor, Bishnubrata Mishra, who was responsible for audits at the branch between 2011 and 2015. The central government approved the Fugitive Economic Offenders Bill to deter economic offenders from evading the process of Indian law by giving powers to the government to confiscate assets of a fugitive, including Benami assets of absconding loan defaulters. The bill covers a wide range of economic offenders which include: loan defaulters, fraudsters, individuals who violate laws governing taxes, black money, benami properties, financial sector, and corruption. . |
| Feb 28, 2018 | CBI arrested former PNB auditor M.K. Sharma, who was responsible for auditing systems and practices of the PNB bank’s Brady House branch. |
| Feb 27, 2018: | PNB said that the amount of fraudulent transactions had been revised upwards by about $204 million to about Rs.12,636 crore. Nirav Modi’s firm Firestar Diamond filed for bankruptcy in USA. |
| Feb 24, 2018: | Mehul Choksi wrote an open letter to employees of Gitanjali Gems expressing his innocence and telling them to look for other jobs. ED seized several properties including a farmhouse, a solar power plant and land belonging to Nirav Modi worth Rs.524 Crore. |
| Feb 23, 2018: | Auditor group Institute of Chartered Accountants of India began probe into PNB fraud. Priyanka Chopra, famous Bollywood actress, announced having snapped her relationship with Nirav Modi’s brand. |
| Feb 22, 2018: | Enforcement Directorate seized nine luxury cars belonging to Nirav Modi and his firms; freezed their investments in shares and mutual funds worth Rs.78 million held by Nirav Modi and Rs.867.2 million held by Choksi |
| Feb 21, 2018: | CBI arrested PNB general manager Rajesh Jindal, who headed the bank’s Brady House branch in Mumbai between August 2009 and May 2011. Nirav Modi reportedly wrote to his employees in India saying they should look for other jobs as he would not be able to pay them salaries after the seizure of his assets. |
| Feb 20, 2018: | Continuous fall in PNB share prices wiped off about $1.9 billion in its market capitalisation within a week. RBI asked banks to implement measures to strengthen their oversight of the SWIFT interbank messaging platform. ED was reported to be investigating more than 100 shell companies allegedly used by Modi and Choksi to route funds. CBI arrested three officials from Modi’s group, two from Gitanjali. |
| Feb 19, 2018: | CBI arrested three more PNB executives in relation to the PNB fraud case. |
| Feb 17, 2018: | CBI made first arrests in the case, two PNB employees and an executive of Nirav Modi’s group. UCO Bank said that it had about $412 million in exposure to fraudulent transactions carried out at PNB. Enforcement Directorate reportedly seized Rs. 56.74 billion worth of diamonds, gold and jewellery from Nirav Modi’s home and offices. |
| Feb 16, 2018: | CBI filed case against Mehul Choksi’s Gitanjali Group and conducted searches at 20 of the jewellery retailers locations. The Reserve Bank of India said that it will take appropriate supervisory action. Union Bank Of India disclosed that it had an exposure of about $300 million related to the PNB fraud, while State Bank of India said that its exposure was about $212 million. |
| Feb 15, 2018: | PNB chief executive, Sunil Mehta, held a news conference, when he said that the Bank was working with law enforcement agencies, regulators, other banks. CBI said that Nirav Modi and Mehul, Choksi had left India before PNB filed complaint. |
| Feb 14, 2018: | PNB disclosed the amount involved in the fraud as $1.77 billion, or Rs11,400 crore. It also said that other banks overseas had advanced money to jewellers based on the fraudulent guarantees issued by its staff. |
| Feb 05, 2018: | Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) said having launched a probe into the alleged scam. PNB Bank was reported to be still investigating the extent of the fraud. |
| Feb 2018 | CBI launched an investigation on him, based on a complaint from the Punjab National Bank that alleged Nirav Modi and his partners defrauded the bank for ₹280 Crore (approximately USD 40 million) by conspiring with bank officials to fraudulently obtain Letters of Undertaking (LoUs are undertaking provided by one bank to another bank) for making payments to overseas suppliers. While ₹280 Crore is the fraud that has devolved to date, the potential liability of loss to Punjab National Bank goes up to ₹11000 crore. |
| Jan 29, 2018: | PNB filed police complaint against jewellers Nirav Modi, Mehul Choksi and others, saying they had colluded with two of its staff to defraud PNB of Rs. 280 crore. |
| Nov 15, 2011 | He had provided his guarantee to Union Bank of India for its loan granted to Firestone Trading Pvt Ltd. |
| Oct 21, 2011 | He had provided his guarantee to Union Bank of India for its loan granted to Firestar Diamond. |
