PNB Fraud | FM Arun Jaitley: Bank management, auditors at fault
Arun Jaitley calls for addl measures to avoid such fraud
In his first reaction to the Punjab National Bank scam, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley blamed the bank management and the auditors on Tuesday for the Rs 11,000-crore fraud involving billionaire diamantaire Nirav Modi. Jaitley called for additional mechanisms to nip such “stray cases” in the bud.
The Finance Minister was speaking at the annual meeting of the Association of Development Financing Institutions in Asia and the Pacific in Delhi. “On the face of it, you are found lacking when you are unable to check who among them are delinquent,” he said. “Both internal and external auditors failed to detect fraud,” he added.
Jaitley also said when authority is given to the management they are expected to utilise it effectively. He reminded the banks that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had given them the the autonomy they needed.
Without naming Nirav Modi, Jaitley added, “a section of the Indian businessmen don’t follow ethics. Therefore, it is incumbent upon us to chase these people to the last possible conclusion to make sure the country is not cheated.”