The central agency has taken into custody Gokulnath Shetty, then deputy manager (now retired) of Punjab National Bank; Manoj Kharat, a single window operator of PNB, and Hemant Bhat, authorised signatory of Nirav Modi, a billionaire diamond merchant.
The Nirav Modi episode is a serious crime and can harm the economy of the country, observed a special CBI court in Mumbai as it remanded three accused in the PNB scam in police custody for two weeks.
The remand order against the accused was issued by Additional Sessions Judge SR Tamboli after the Central Bureau of Investigation on Saturday arrested the three in connection with the massive scam that has raised fears of a ripple effect in the banking sector as well as the government.
The central agency has taken into custody Gokulnath Shetty, then deputy manager (now retired) of Punjab National Bank; Manoj Kharat, a single window operator of PNB, and Hemant Bhat, authorised signatory of Nirav Modi, a billionaire diamond merchant.
"The offence is serious in nature. The remand report [of CBI] shows the fraud amount as Rs 280 crore and it can rise up to Rs 6,000 core. This can harm the economy of the country and hence the investigating officer should get a fair chance," said the Judge Tamboli siding with the CBI's argument for custody till March 3.
The CBI told the court that the beneficiaries of fraud (mentioned initially in its FIR) are Nirav Modi, his wife Ami, Neeshal Modi, Mehul Choksi. The CBI on Friday registered a second FIR against Choksi and his companies Gitanjali Gems, Nakshatra Brands and Gili in connection with fake LoUs worth over Rs 4,886 crore.
Earlier, Senior Public Prosecutor Om Prakash told the court that the accused had cheated the country's second-largest public sector by lender issuing the unauthorised Letters of Undertaking. "The agency is required the maximum 14 days' police custody for recovering the documents and to understand the modus operandi."
Om Prakash told the court that it was Bhatt who had requested PNB's Brady House branch in Mumbai to issue LoUs on behalf of Modi and that he is aware of the "transactions as well as the names of other bank officials" involved in the malpractice.
The lawyers representing the accused sought judicial custody of their clients. Shetty's lawyer contended that the 61-year-old was now retired and it was not possible for him to have any bank documents with him. "Shetty is not an ultimate beneficiary, the beneficiary has already left the country."
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