PNB Fraud Case: CBI Arrests Vipul Ambani, 4 Others in Connection to Rs 11,400-Crore Scam
Ambani is the chief financial officer at Nirav Modi's flagship firm Firestar International.
New Delhi, Feb 20: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Tuesday arrested Vipul Ambani, the chief financial officer of Nirav Modi's flagship firm Firestar International, along with four others. The arrest came a day after the agency grilled Ambani in connection to the Rs 11,400 crore financial scandal involving the Punjab National Bank (PNB).
Among four others who were arrested, two of them - Kavita Mankikar and Arjun Patil are linked to Modi's firms, whereas, another two individuals - Kapil Khandelwal and Niten Shahi are associated with Gitanjali Gems, headed by Modi's maternal uncle Mehul Choksi.
Modi and Choksi are named in the FIR registered by the CBI on January 29. However, both the diamondarites "fled" from India in the first week of January - days before the scandal came to light.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, while speaking on the purported scam on Tuesday, said the central agencies would ensure that those who have looted the public money are brought to book. "State will chase those who cheat banking system. None of them will be spared," he said.
Meanwhile, Modi, in a letter to PNB dated Feb 15/16, expressed his inability to settle the outstanding due to the "media frenzy" invited by the bank. The diamond czar said the "erroneous" claims made by PNB officials has tarnished his image and made it impossible for him to smoothly conduct his business.
He further claimed that the amount of loans which he owes to PNB is not more than Rs 5,000 crores, as against the liability figure of Rs 11,400 crore being quoted by the bank officials.
The PNB, however, is firm on recovering the defrauded amount from the assets of Modi in India. "Enough assets are available to reclaim the amount as per the law," the bank said in a statement on Monday.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 20, 2018 09:35 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).