The Ministry of Finance on Monday refuted a news report that the tax department had estimated a Rs 19,317-crore “hit” for Indian banks because of the alleged fraud at Punjab National Bank. The tax department has not made any such prediction, the ministry said on Twitter, calling the news report “false and factually incorrect”.

On Saturday, the news outlet Reuters had reported that the alleged fraud at the state-run Punjab National Bank could cost other Indian banks over $3 billion (Rs 19,317 crore) in the loans and corporate guarantees they had provided to the diamond companies related to billionaire jeweller Nirav Modi and his uncle Mehul Choksi.

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The news was based on a note by the tax department, which Reuters claimed to have seen.

The note reportedly said that as of March 2017, several banks had extended loans and guarantees worth Rs 17,632 crore to Modi’s and Choksi’s firms. This amount could have increased over the past year and the total “hit” to Indian banks “may well exceed” Rs 19,000 crore now, the note said.

The note is part of the tax department’s preliminary investigation into India’s biggest bank fraud case, Reuters reported. Billionaire jewellery designers Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi are among those booked for fraud and accused of cheating Punjab National Bank in a Rs 11,380-crore scam.

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The scam involved bank officials allegedly handing out fake Letters of Understanding on behalf of companies associated with Modi, which allowed him to access massive foreign exchange loans that were completely unsecured.

On Saturday, the Central Bureau of Investigation arrested Punjab National Bank’s former Deputy General Manager Gokulnath Shetty, single window operator Manoj Kharat, and authorised signatory of the Nirav Modi Group of Firms Hemant Bhat – the first arrests in the Rs 11.380-crore scam case.