The CBI has arrested five accused, including three top employees of billionaire jeweller Nirav Modi, on Tuesday in connection with the PNB scam worth Rs 11,400 core.  Those arrested have been identified as Vipul Ambani, vice-president finance, Kavita Mankikar, executive assistant, Arjun Patil, senior executive of Firestar Diamond International Pvt, Kapil Khandelwal, chief finance officer and Niten Shahi, manager of Nakshatra and Gitanjali Gems group. Vipul Ambani is a close relative of late Dhirubhai Ambani and was working with Firestar since 2014.  

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To unearth the larger conspiracy and ascertain the role of accused persons in the scam, the CBI questioned 28 people, including eight employees of Nirav Modi in Mumbai.  “We have recovered substantial documents from the raids carried out at three places, primarily at houses of three accused arrested on Monday,”said CBI spokesperson Abhishek Dayal.

On the other hand, the ED has identified around 120 shell companies allegedly used by Modi and Choksi to route funds, 80 used by Modi and 40 by Choksi.

Meanwhile, a CBI court on Tuesday remanded the second set of accused, which includes three PNB bank officials arrested on Monday, till March 3. The court there was a possibility of involvement of the bank officials in diverting the bank money and thus remanded the trio to CBI custody. “The offense committed by the accused has a wide effect on the economy of the nation,” the judge said.

Both the ED and CBI are coordinating on a daily basis for the future course of action in this case.