CBI (un)seals Punjab National Bank bank at Fort

Mumbai: The CBI on Monday arrested three more officers of the Punjab National Bank (PNB) Brady House branch on Monday in connection with the Nirav Modi scam case. Those arrested were identified as Bechhu Tiwari, chief manager, in charge of Forex department. Officials said that Tiwari was responsible for supervising the activities of deputy branch manager and important accused Gokulnath Shetty and his manager to ensure entry of authorised swift messages only from the system. Tiwari had full knowledge of the activities of Shetty.

The second accused was identified as Yashwant Joshi, Scale II - Manager, Forex department. Joshi was responsible for supervising Shetty and to ensure daily updated reports of Swift messages and CBS entries. Probe has revealed that Joshi too had full knowledge of Shetty’s activities and avoided taking any action.

The third accused was identified as Praful Sawant, scale I officer, export. He was responsible for checking the SWIFT messages daily and to report any discrepancies.

The CBI teams have begun searches at their residences in Navi Mumbai, Andheri, Dombivali. The investigators are also searching the offices of Nirav Modi group at Peninsula Business Park, Lower Parel. The CBI officials confirmed that they have concluded searches at PNB Brady house branch late Monday evening.

Fearing the likelihood of sabotage to the data in the Punjab National Bank’s Brady House branch, which was duped by diamond businessman Nirav Modi to the tune of Rs 11,400-crore, the CBI had briefly sealed the premises late on Sunday.

The step was taken after rummaging through the documents and records. The seal was removed on Monday after a team of CBI again landed there around noon. On the second consecutive day, the CBI conducted marathon interrogation of Vipul Ambani, chief finance officer of Modi’s Firestar Pvt Ltd. He is cousin of business tycoon Mukesh Ambani. The officials questioned him on the multiple Letter of Undertaking (LoUs) sought by diamond businessman Modi’s company. The seal and notice were put up at the branch premises on Sunday night. They were however removed after a team of around 12 CBI personnel landed at the Brady House branch on Monday. The branch will be open for normal operations on Tuesday.

The CBI searched at the branch office of Punjab National Bank to secure the documentary evidence and to understand function of the Swift messaging system. The officials are also questioning several bank officials who were posted at the branch during the period when 143 LoUs were issued by the PNB.

Meanwhile, the ED conducted raids on the premises of jewellery brands owned by Modi ‘s uncle Mehul Choksi — Gili, Nakshatra and Geetanjali in Thane — and seized valuables kept in these outlets. The officials said that the valuation of the seized items is underway. The officials also raided Thane Gili store and seized ornaments and diamond jewellery worth Rs 8 crore