Sibal criticises Jaitley for blaming regulators in PNB scam

Senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal on Saturday criticised Finance Minister Arun Jaitley for blaming regulators over the Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud.

Talking to ANI, Sibal said that it was not just to blame only regulator in the PNB fraud.

"Why to blame only regulator? What about political system and the fact that finance ministry must have known about it? What was nominee of the government doing in these banks?" asked Sibal.

The former union minister said it was very glib for Jaitley to say regulators were responsible.

"The whole issue (PNB fraud) needs to be investigated. It is very glib for people to say regulators are responsible," Sibal said.

Earlier in the day, Jaitley held regulators and auditors responsible for over Rs 11000 crore fraud at PNB.

Speaking at ET Global Business Summit 2018, Jaitley said, "Regulators have a very important function. They ultimately decide the rules of the game and have to have a third-eye. But unfortunately in the Indian system, we politicians are accountable, the regulators are not."

The PNB fraud involves celebrity jeweller Nirav Modi, his family members and Mehul Choksi, owner of Gitanjali Gems.