Sent notice to email id shared by Nirav Modi, says MEA; top 10 developments

The ED has frozen mutual funds and shares worth Rs 945.2 mn of the Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi groups of companies

Government sources told news agency ANI that implementing this section would enable the creation of a National Financial Reporting Authority (NFRA) that would give the government regulatory control over chartered accountants and audit firms to penalise them for their misconduct. 

4) ED seizes Nirav Modi's Rolls Royce Ghost and other luxury cars: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday said it had frozen mutual funds and shares worth Rs 945.2 million (Rs 94.52 crore) of the Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi groups in connection with the money laundering probe against them in the Rs 114-billion (Rs 11,400-crore) alleged fraud at PNB.  

It also seized nine high-end luxury cars of Modi as part of its investigation against him under the criminal provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). 

Officials of the agency said frozen mutual funds and shares worth Rs 867.2 million (Rs 86.72 crore) belonged to Choksi and his group, and the rest were owned by the Modi group. Choksi is Modi's uncle and promoter of Gitanjali Gems and other jewellery brands.

The central probe agency also seized nine costly cars of Modi, recovered by it during raids last week. These include a Rolls Royce Ghost, a Mercedes Benz, a Porsche Panamera, three Honda variants, a Toyota Fortuner and an Innova. 

5) Residence of Gili's director sealed: The ED on Wednesday sealed the residence of Gili India Limited Director Aniyath Shivraman at Kalyan in Maharashtra's Thane district. 

The ED also seized several important documents related to Punjab National Bank. 

6) PNB adopts strict SWIFT controls: Singed by the ongoing Rs 114-billion fraud case involving Nirav Modi, PNB has stepped up its controls on the use of global payments network SWIFT, according to memos issued this month and seen by Reuters. 

PNB alleges the fraud was committed by two junior officials at a Mumbai branch, who issued unauthorised letters of undertaking (LOUs) via SWIFT for firms linked to Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi. 

7) DGFT to probe Modi, Choksi firms: In more bad news for Modi & co, the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) has started a probe to look into whether companies belonging to Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi followed foreign trade guidelines while taking bank loans. DGFT Director-General Alok Vardhan Chaturvedi directed officials to examine whether the two groups enjoyed benefits of any export promotion schemes. 

"The DGFT will examine whether duty exemption and remission schemes have been violated, enabling duty-free import of raw materials for export production," an official said on condition of anonymity.  

8) PNB's recap amount to go up: With the Rs 114-billion scam blowing up, the recapitalisation amount meant for PNB by the Centre is set to increase. PNB's performance metrics are also being reviewed to ascertain whether it needs to be put on the Reserve Bank of India's list for prompt corrective action (PCA), sources told Business Standard.  

"The Reserve Bank of India will have to examine how the fraud affects PNB's parameters. Whether you like it or not, its recapitalisation will have to be increased," said a senior official. "The central bank will also examine if the bank requires PCA after the latest hit," the official added. 

9) Govt to call meeting of bank officials: To resolve issues concerning payment of liabilities of Rs 114 billion arising from the alleged PNB fraud, sources said that the Finance Ministry will soon call a meeting of top officials of scam-hit Punjab National Bank and other lenders. Earlier, after the scam surfaced, PNB had said it would honour all its bonafide commitments.

The government is of the view that the issue is between PNB and other public sector banks and it should be resolved amicably as soon as possible, sources said. Keeping this in mind, the Department of Financial Services would soon call a meeting of top officials of all the banks involved. 

10) PNB MD & CEO quizzed again: The I-T department on Wednesday quizzed PNB Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Sunil Mehta again. "The PNB chief was summoned to the income tax department office on Wednesday. He was questioned for at least two hours," an official said. 

I-T sleuths had come to the PNB headquarters in Delhi to question Mehta on Monday. He was questioned for around four hours on Tuesday, sources said.  
 

With agency inputs