The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has added four more accused in the ₹13,578 crore Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud case involving fugitive businessman Mehul Choksi. A special CBI court has accepted the supplementary charge sheet and issued summons to all four accused.
Four New Accused Named
The newly added accused include Bishnubrata Mishra, who was the Internal Chief Auditor at PNB’s Brady House branch, and three private individuals—Jayesh Indravadan Shah, Ajit Kantilal Bheda, and Deepen Chandravadan Shah. The CBI has alleged that the three private individuals were associates of Mehul Choksi.
The court said that there is enough preliminary evidence to proceed against all four accused. In the case of Bishnubrata Mishra, the required government approval for prosecution has also been placed on record.
Background of the PNB Fraud Case
The CBI registered the case in February 2018, shortly after Mehul Choksi left India. The FIR was filed against Choksi, his Gitanjali Group companies, several bank officials, and others.
According to the investigation, PNB reported a fraud of ₹7,080.86 crore involving companies controlled by Mehul Choksi. These companies had also taken loans from a consortium of 32 banks, with outstanding dues of about ₹5,099.74 crore as of 31 December 2017.
Fraud Through Fake Letters of Undertaking
The CBI found that between 2011 and 2017, Gitanjali Group companies obtained fraudulent Letters of Undertaking (LOUs). These LOUs were used to raise buyers’ credit from overseas banks without following proper banking procedures.
According to the supplementary charge sheet, the four newly added accused allegedly helped in issuing 118 fake and unauthorized LOUs in 2015 for Gitanjali Group companies, even though the companies had no approved credit limits. These transactions were worth around ₹21.87 crore.
More Fraudulent LOUs Issued in 2016
The CBI has also alleged that the accused helped issue another 116 fraudulent LOUs in 2016 for companies including Asmi Jewellery India Ltd., Gili India Ltd., Gitanjali Exports Corporation Ltd., and Nakshatra Brands Ltd.
The agency said these LOUs were issued without approved credit limits, without the required 110% cash margin, and without recording the transactions in PNB’s core banking system. This allowed the companies to obtain fraudulent buyers’ credit from foreign banks.
Court Observes Prima Facie Evidence
The special court observed that there is prima facie evidence showing that the accused conspired to issue fraudulent LOUs and make changes to Foreign Letters of Credit, leading to misuse of bank funds. The case will now proceed against the newly added accused.
Nirav Modi Case Also Mentioned
The court also noted that Mehul Choksi’s nephew, Nirav Modi, caused a separate loss of around ₹6,498 crore to PNB during the same period. Nirav Modi also left India before the CBI registered the fraud case in 2018.
