PNB scam: CBI questions officials of BoI, Axis and Allahabad Bank

The CBI has questioned senior officials of the Bank of India, Axis Bank and Allahabad Bank in connection with its probe in the over Rs 130 billion PNB scam case involving billionaire diamantaire Nirav Modi and his uncle Mehul Choksi.

Agency sources said about five officers, in the ranks of general manager and above, have been grilled by the agency in the last few days to understand how the Letters of Undertaking (LoUs) and Foreign Letters of Credit issued by the Punjab National Bank (PNB) in this case were executed vis-a-vis Modi's businesses.

These officers, they said, were responsible for the operations of the Bank of India's Antwerp branch in Belgium and the Axis Bank and Allahabad Bank branches in Hong Kong.

The officials are based in India.

They said more such officials could be summoned by the agency.

The CBI has alleged that firms controlled by Nirav Modi and Choksi obtained fraudulent LoUs and letters of credit (LCs), worth over Rs 130 billion, from PNB in connivance with some officials of the bank.

Modi's firms allegedly defrauded PNB of over Rs 60 billion, while Choksi's firms over Rs 70 billion.