PNB Fraud| Enough arrangement made for customers to carry out transactions, says bank

Embroiled in a major fraud, state-owned PNB today assured all its customers that "enough arrangements" for their banking transactions without any inconvenience, and it has sufficient assets to meet any liability.

Replying to clarifications sought by stock exchanges, the Punjab National Bank (PNB) said: "Bank has enough assets to meet any liability which is decided as per law."

However, it added realisation of any specific asset would be decided at the time of need with the approval of board.

This followed media reports that the country's second largest bank was in process to monetise its fixed assets in the wake of Rs 11,400 crore fraud allegedly perpetrated by defaulter businessmen Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi.

On reports about law enforcement agencies sealing its MCB Brady House branch in Mumbai, PNB said it is under discussion with CBI to allow normal operation at the branch during business hours.

"However, the bank has Core Banking Solution through which any customer of bank can transact at any branch of his convenience. Bank has made enough arrangements to ensure no customer is put to any inconvenience," it said.

Regarding exchanges' query on a petition in the Supreme Court demanding Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe into the fraud, PNB said it is not aware of any such petition.

The bank's shares continued to tank for a fourth day in a row today.

Earlier, Nirav Modi, the kingpin behind the largest banking scam in the country's history, has virtually wrung his arms in the air saying PNB's overzealousness has shut the doors on his ability to clear the dues, which he claimed is much lower than the bank has gone public with.

In a letter Modi wrote on February 15/16 to the PNB management, a copy of which PTI has seen, he pegged the amount his companies owes to the bank under Rs 5,000 crore.

"The erroneously cited liability resulted in a media frenzy which led to immediate search and seizure of operations, and which in turn resulted in Firestar International and Firestar Diamond International effectively ceasing to be going-concerns.

"This thereby jeopardised our ability to discharge the dues of the group to the banks," Modi, who left the country along with his family in the first week of January, wrote in the letter.