The companies owned by fugitive businessman Nirav Modi took loans not only from the Punjab National Bank’s branch in Mumbai’s Brady House, but also its branches in Hong Kong and Dubai, the bank has said in an internal report submitted to investigative agencies. However, the transactions in these accounts were not treated as fraudulent, PTI reported.
The companies’ credit facilities were discontinued soon after the bank discovered that it had been defrauded of more than Rs 13,000 crore. The 162-page report, which was presented along with internal e-mails as part of the evidence to investigative agencies, says that the fraud was not detected because of widespread lapses in the bank’s risk-control and monitoring mechanisms.
The report says that lapses at the credit review and international banking units at the bank’s New Delhi headquarters for several years was one of the reasons the fraud eventually went undetected. According to it, people across the board – clerks to foreign exchange managers, and auditors to heads of regional offices – allowed the scam to be perpetrated. As many as 54 individuals have been named, of whom eight have been arrested so far. The police have also submitted the report as evidence in court.
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