PNB fraud: Nirav Modi flees to UK, seeking 'political asylum', says report

Nirav Modi, the billionaire jeweller at the heart of a more than $2 billion fraud case in India, has fled to the UK, where he is claiming political asylum, the Financial Times reported on Sunday, citing Indian and British officials. Britain's Home Office said it does not provide information on individual cases. Nirav Modi could not be contacted by Reuters for comment on the FT report. 

Punjab National Bank, India's second-largest state-run bank, said earlier in 2018 that two jewellery groups headed by Modi and his uncle Mehul Choksi had defrauded it of about $2.2 billion by raising credit from overseas branches of other Indian banks using illegal guarantees issued by rogue PNB staff at a Mumbai branch over several years. Nirav Modi is in London trying to claim asylum from what he calls "political persecution", the FT reported. India's ministry of external affairs told the FT the Indian government was waiting for the country's law enforcement agencies to approach them before pushing for an extradition, which had thus far not happened. The ministry did not respond to a Reuters request for comment outside regular working hours.

Time to privatise state-owned banks in taxpayers interest: Nandan Nilekani

Infosys chairman and Unique ID project architect Nandan Nilekani on Tuesday said the "original rationale" for bank nationalisation has ceased to exist and that privatisation is the way forward the public sector lenders citing the taxpayers' interest.

Nilekani, who contested the last Lok Sabha polls on a Congress ticket, said banks were nationalised over five decades ago because they were focusing only on big industries and ignoring smaller ones. The 21 state-run banks had suffered reverses because of lending to large companies.

Introduction of technology-based solutions also makes it possible to cater to the requirements of the smaller borrowers, who were neglected in the pre-nationalisation era, the technocrat said.

"The original rationale has gone away and so let most banks function on market principles owned by the general public," he told reporters, adding privatising them is also in the interest of taxpayers.

Rs 129 bn PNB scam: I fear for my safety, Mehul Choksi tells CBI in letter

Mehul Choksi, the uncle of diamantaire Nirav Modi and owner of Geetanjali Gems has written to the CBI, according to ANI reports on Tuesday. The co-accused in the PNB fraud case is outside the country. Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi had illegally obtained LoUs from the Punjab National Bank to avail loans from lenders abroad and then defaulted on them. The CBI and Enforcement Directorate are currently investigating the PNB scam.
Here is an excerpt from his letter obtained from news agency ANI's Twitter feed:
Regional Passport Office hasn't communicated with me & my passport remains suspended. I have the deepest respect for your offices and assure you that I am not making any excuse, whatsoever to travel to India.
I reiterate that I am abroad & have earlier also responded to your notices.

Surprisingly, the issues raised remain unaddressed, making my fear of safety rise to extreme levels. Media continues to conduct a trial by itself & blow every issue out of proportion.

News digest: PNB fraud, war against fakes, right to die, and more

Trump slaps tariffs, rattles Indian metal firms; JSW asks govt to retaliate


Indian metal producers with exposure to Europe and the United States warned of increased costs and lower sales with US President Donald Trump signing on Thursday a proclamation levying a 25 per cent duty on steel imports and 10 per cent on aluminium imports.


As soon as Trump signed the proclamation, Tata Steel Europe asked the Dutch government and the European Union to persuade the US not to levy the duty on steel imports. Read more here...


PNB fraud fallout: Loan disbursements to corporate India take a hit
Loan disbursals to India Inc are taking a hit at this crucial time of fiscal year end, as banks, especially public sector lenders, have turned defensive in the aftermath of the Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud. The assessment of the impact of the new framework for restructuring of stressed assets is also taking bankers’ time.

Another bank fraud? Borrowers misuse SBI loan of Rs 32 mn to produce a film

In yet another fraud on a public sector bank, as many as 13 people including a kabaddi player got a loan of Rs 32.9 million for buying top-end cars, but 'misused' the money for producing a Tamil film.
When the fraud came to light, the Madras High Court, on a plea from the State Bank of India (SBI), granted an interim injunction against the movie's release.

The fraud was done with the connivance of an auto loan counsellor who allegedly hacked the bank's computers to facilitate the loan sanction and its disbursement.

Justice C V Karthikeyan passed the interim order on a civil suit of the lender restraining White Screen Productions (WSP) from releasing the movie till March 16, 2018.

PNB scam: Court issues non-bailable warrants against Nirav Modi, Choksi

A special court on Saturday issued non-bailable warrants (NBWs) against diamond traders Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi in the alleged Rs 114 billion Punjab National Bank scam.
The court, set up under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), issued the NBWs on applications filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), one of the agencies probing the bank fraud cases registered last month.

The ED had earlier issued summonses to Modi and Choksi, both key accused in the scam cases, asking them to appear before the central agency.

However, the two diamond traders, who are said to have left the country before criminal cases were registered, had failed to appear before the ED, promoting the agency to move the PMLA court for issuance of NBWs against them.

On February 27, the ED had moved the court seeking an NBW against Modi.