CBI arrests 10 people for alleged misuse of LoUs worth Rs 9 cr at PNB's Brady House branch

The CBI has arrested 10 people for alleged misuse of Lettter of Undertakings worth over Rs 9 crore in the Punjab National Bank's Brady House branch, the fountainhead of a USD 2 billion scam perpetrated by billionaires Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi, officials said Wednesday.

In March, the agency had filed a case pertaining to fraudulent issuance of LOUs amounting to Rs 9 crore to Chandri Papers and Allied Products by the PNB's Brady House branch, they said.

An LoU is a service whereby the bank guarantees a customer's payment obligation of a specified amount to an overseas bank.

The two LoUs were allegedly issued in April, 2017 in favour of SBI, Antwerp, Belgium, they said.

The company did not pay back, bringing the liability on the state-run PNB.

Retired PNB employee Gokulnath Shetty and a single-window operator (SWO) at the branch, Manoj Kharat, who are facing CBI probe in the Modi-Choksi case, were named by the agency in an FIR, the officials said.

The CBI thereafter arrested eight officials who were working at the branch at that time. They are -- SWOs Manoj Kharat, Amar Jadhav and Sagar Sawant, chief manager Bechu Tiwari, manager Yashwant Joshi, branch head Sanjay Prasad, officer Prafful Sawant and chief internal auditor Mohinder Sharma.

The directors of the company, Ishwardas Agarwal and Adtiya Rasiwasia, were also taken into custody by the CBI in an operation that started on Tuesday, the officials said.

All the arrested accused have been sent to police custody till December 21, a CBI spokesperson said.