ED searches 17 locations in PNB fraud case

The Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday carried out searches at 17 locations in Mumbai in connection with its ongoing probe into the Rs 11,300 crore Punjab National Bank fraud case, officials said.

An ED official told IANS that the agency has also carried out searches at four firms which it suspected were shell companies.

On Tuesday, the ED officials said over 120 shell companies were allegedly linked to diamond trader Nirav Modi and Gitanjali Group chief Mehul Choksi.

The agency is investigating 79 shell companies owned by the Gitanjali chief and 41 owned by Modi in India.

The agency is also examining if the money taken from banks was diverted to these shell companies.

Modi and his uncle Choksi, along with the directors of their companies are under investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation and the ED for the alleged Rs 11,300 crore fraud on PNB. They had used its Letters of Undertaking and Foreign Letters of Credit to raise and rollover.

Both Modi and Choksi, along with other family members, are said to have left the country in early January.

The FIR also named two former bank employees for alleged direct involvement in the fraudulent transactions.

Three companies of the Gitanjali Group were also named in the second CBI FIR for allegedly defrauding PNB of Rs 4,886 crore.

--IANS

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