In a massive development in the Nirav Modi-Punjab National Bank (PNB) scam, the Central government has informed the Parliament that the absconding jeweler is in Hong Kong.
The Ministry of External Affairs has also stated on record in the Parliament that it has sought the provisional arrest of Nirav Modi by the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HK SAR), People’s Republic of China. The Ministry has also stated that a request on the same has been submitted to the HK SAR on March 23.
Earlier in the day, Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) questioned four Reserve Bank of India (RBI) officials in connection with the Rs 13,500 crore Punjab National Bank (PNB) scam
Gitanjali Gems Chairman and Managing Director Mehul Choksi and his nephew, Nirav Modi, are the prime accused in the Punjab National Bank (PNB) scam.
PNB in February detected the scam, wherein Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi had acquired letters of undertaking (LoUs) separately to avail credit from various sources and did not repay the loan.
The scam, which reportedly began in 2011, was detected in the third week of January this year, after which the PNB officials reported it to the concerned agencies.
The CBI received the complaint from the PNB on January 28 and a case was registered in the case on January 31.