New Delhi, February 20: Punjab National Bank (PNB), the second-biggest state-run lender in India, stunned the country’s financial sector in the last week after it disclosed that the bank had discovered fraudulent transactions worth $1.77 billion (Rs 11,400-crore) at a single branch in Mumbai.  The Supreme Court will hear PIL in the PNB Scam on February 23, 2018. As per reports, Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra-led bench will hear the PIL filed by lawyer Vineet Dhanda.

The PNB scam is by far the biggest ever detected by an Indian bank. The fraud came to light when lenders which are especially the state-run banks saw a $147 billion in soured loans on their books. Nirav Modi, the Celebrity jeweller is the alleged kingpin of the largest banking scam in the country's history. The Modi said PNB's overzealousness shut the doors on his ability to clear the dues in a letter to the Punjab National Bank's management.

Nirav Modi on February 15/16, in a letter to the Punjab National Bank management, a copy of which PTI has seen, pegged the money his companies owe to the bank at under Rs. 5,000 crore. "The erroneously cited liability resulted in a media frenzy which led to immediate search and seizure of operations, and which in turn resulted in Firestar International and Firestar Diamond International effectively ceasing to be going-concerns," he wrote in the letter. "This thereby jeopardised our ability to discharge the dues of the group to the banks," he added in the letter.

In his letter, Modi said, "In the anxiety to recover your dues immediately, despite my offer (on February 13, a day before the public announcement, and on 15) your actions have destroyed my brand and the business and have now restricted your ability to recover all the dues leaving a trail of unpaid debts”.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 20, 2018 11:39 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).