Friday, Apr 19, 2024 | Last Update : 09:16 PM IST
Punjab National Bank fraud case: Criminal breach of trust as well
The CBI alleged that Shetty did not made entries in the bank system due to which these transactions could not be detected.
Mumbai: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Tuesday informed the special CBI court that the agency had added section 409 (criminal breach of trust by public servant or by banker) of the Indian Penal Code in the Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud case.
The section has been added in view of the alleged role played by one of the prime accused in the case, a retired deputy manager of the PNB, Gokulnath Shetty. The court was also informed that the total amount of fraud of Gitanjali Group, which is controlled by Mehul Choksi, has increased from Rs 6,138.28 crore to Rs 7,080.86 crore.
If convicted under section 409, the accused could be sentenced to life imprisonment or imprisonment for 10 years and shall also be liable to pay fine. The CBI has already imposed sections 120 (B) (criminal conspiracy) r/w 420 (cheating) of the IPC on the accused under which if the person is found guilty, they can be punished for life imprisonment or sent to prison for seven years.
The application moved by the CBI counsel A. Limosin before the court said that initially the complaint was registered on February 15, 2018, after receiving a complaint from PNB.
Later, on February 22, 2018, the PNB gave an additional complaint detailing the exposure of about `942.18 crore to Asmi Jewellery of Gitanjali Group in connection with the alleged fraud. Due to this, the total amount involved in fraud increased to `7,080.86 crore.
According to the CBI’s application, Shetty, who was posted in the forex department at Mid Corporate Branch, Brady House, without any authorisation and fraudulently issued 143 Letter of Undertakings (LoUs) between March 2017 to May 2, 2017 in favour of overseas branches of various Indian based banks. It is further alleged that Shetty unauthorisedly enhanced the value of Foreign Letters of Credit (FLC), in favour of foreign suppliers of the accused companies without following the prescribed procedure.
The CBI alleged that Shetty did not made entries in the bank system due to which these transactions could not be detected.
