According to recent reports, Punjab National Bank (PNB) has written a letter to Nirav Modi, the kingpin behind the largest banking scam, to repay the entire amount as soon as possible and also expressed their views of not agreeing to any kind of settlement with him. This is with response to a Hindustan Times Report mentioning that Nirav Modi in an email had offered jewelry worth Rs. 2,000 crore, current account deposits of Rs 200 crore and immovable properties of Rs 50 crore to settle part of his liabilities.

The report quotes PNB General Manager Ashwini Vats who wrote in a response to Modi, saying, “You are aware of the amount of fraud committed by you and yet you propose to pay a paltry amount with no proposal or ability to pay the remaining amount. Your recent alleged proposal to repay some amount is vague and only an effort to gain time by adopting delaying tactics.”

Last month, Nirav Modi commented saying, that PNB had closed all doors of recovering dues for his brand by going public. Modi was quoted as saying, "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.”

PNB, the second largest state-run bank, had on February 14 informed the exchanges of detecting USD 1.77 billion fraud at its Brady House branch in Horniman Circle area of south Mumbai and named the firms led by Modi and his uncle Mehul Choksi's Gitanjali Group and some other diamond and jewelry merchants as suspects.

The bank has also filed criminal complaints with CBI and the ED, both of which launched nationwide searches on dozens of offices and residences of the alleged fraudsters.The bank has named Modi's brother, his American wife Ami, and uncle Choksi besides some others in the FIR. Recent reports also highlight that, billionaire Modi has refused to join the CBI investigation related to the case, citing that he has a business abroad.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 13, 2018 02:05 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).