National
PNB fraud: Chief Bank Manager Bechu Tiwari, two others arrested (Second Lead)
New Delhi, Feb 19 (IANS) The CBI on Monday arrested Punjab National Bank’s Brady House branch (Mumbai) Chief Manager Bechu B. Tewari and two of his colleagues in a multi-crore bank fraud case against diamond merchants Nirav Modi and his uncle Mehul Choksi, an official said.
Tewari was arrested along with Yashwant Joshi, Scale II Manager (Forex department) and and Praful Sawant, Scale I officer (Export), after their day long questioning by Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) sleuths in Mumbai.
The CBI also conducted searches at their residences located at Navi Mumbai, Andheri, and Dombivili.
The agency officials also conducted raids at the offices of Nirav Modi group companies at Peninsula Business Park, Lower Parel while the searches at PNB’s Brady house branch – where Rs 11,300 crore fraud took place – have concluded.
The CBI’s move comes after it on Saturday arrested former PNB Deputy Manager Gokulnath Shetty, Single Window Operator Manoj Kharat and Nirav Modi group’s authorised signatory Hemant Bhat.
CBI investigators said that Tewari was responsible for supervising the work of Shetty and his manager to ensure entry of authorised SWIFT or Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication messages only from the system.
Tewari had full knowledge of the activities of Shetty, said the CBI investigators.
According to the investigators, Joshi was responsible for supervising Shetty and ensure daily reports of SWIFT and Core Banking System (CBS) entries. He had full knowledge of the activities of Shetty but took no action.
Sawant is responsible for checking the SWIFT messages daily and reporting to his seniors.
The official said that the arrested PNB employees would be presented before the CBI special court in Mumbai on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, the CBI on Monday continued examining several PNB officials, besides questioning four employees Nirav Modi’s firms including Vipul Ambani and Ravi Gupta, both Chief Financial Officers, Saurabh Sharma, President, Finance Division and Subhash Parab, Finance Executive in connection with the multi-crore bank fraud, an official said.
The CBI examined Ambani and 13 PNB officials, including some upto then General Manager rank officials, to find out about the irregularities in fraudulent issuance of Letters of Undertaking (LoUs) and Foreign Letters of Credit (FLCs) in favour of companies of Nirav Modi and his uncle Choksi.
Ambani, son of Dhirubhai Ambani’s younger brother Natubhai Ambani, was also questioned by the CBI officials on Sunday for over eight hours in Mumbai. He is the CFO of Nirav Modi’s firm Firestar.
The agency has also sealed the bank’s second largest outlet — Brady House Branch in Mumbai — where the fraud had taken place.
While the CBI is scrutinising the details of LoUs and FLCs submitted by the PNB, the bank’s head office too has scrutinised the documents and submitted a report to the CBI. An LoU is a guarantee by the bank that should the borrower default on repayment, it would pay back the money to the original lender.
An FLC is a sort of guarantee to a third part or vendor that money for the goods supplied would be paid.
The scam surfaced when officials of Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi groups approached the PNB’s Brady House Branch in January to seek LoU for making payments to suppliers. Shetty had retired last May and the new PNB officials demanded margin money to issue the LoUs.
However, they were told by Nirav Modi group officials that they had been getting such a facility for years without any margin money. Once the PNB officials checked, the whole fraud unravelled.
–IANS
rak/vd
Lucknow: Vishal Singh, a renowned social worker from Lucknow, also known as Foodman, has once again made India proud. He was honored by the Happy Hands Gloves Cooperative Limited Company in Korathai, Thailand, for his work with the Hunger Free World Mission.
The Hunger Free World Mission’s meeting was held in Korathai, Thailand, under Vishal Singh’s leadership. Representatives from several countries, including Mr. Raja Dwivedi (Managing Director of Happy Hands Gloves Limited), Thailand Coordinator Mr. Raja Mishra, and member Mr. Varun Singh, attended the event.
Under Vishal Singh’s leadership, the attendees took a pledge to work together toward creating a hunger-free world.
Speaking on the occasion, Vishal Singh explained that the main goal of the Hunger Free World Mission is social participation. He said the mission is not just about feeding people but also about meeting other basic needs of those who are struggling. The mission focuses on helping families of terminally ill patients in hospitals by providing food and shelter. It also works to fulfill essential needs like education, jobs, and care for the elderly.
For the last 16 years, the Vijay Sri Foundation has been providing free services, benefiting thousands of people. Vishal Singh highlighted that the mission aims to gain global recognition like other organizations such as WHO, WWF, and Red Cross, which work for social causes.
During this meeting, Vishal Singh was appointed as the Chairman of the Hunger Free World Mission by representatives from various countries. They also discussed holding regular meetings in different countries to push the mission forward.
Business tycoon Dr. Abhishek Verma has also supported this humanitarian mission, vowing to promote the idea of “Seva Parmo Dharma” (Service is the highest duty) worldwide. Vishal Singh praised him, stating that people like Dr .Abhishek Verma inspire others to work for the betterment of society.
Recently, Romania’s Ambassador, Mr . Daniela Sezonov Ţane, invited Vishal Singh to the Romanian Embassy in Delhi, where they discussed the mission in detail. Impressed by his humanitarian work, she honored Vishal Singh and invited him to Romania to take the mission forward .
Food man Vishal Singh has been serving the people of India for the past 16 years. Through the Vijay Sri Foundation, he provides free meals to cancer patients & their families ,shelter, and education for women & children along with running free old-age homes in Lucknow.
In addition to his humanitarian work, Vishal Singh also addresses issues like crime and corruption through his role as Chairman of Seva Path Media and Managing Director of Vijay Sri Foundation.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Vishal Singh and his team worked tirelessly to provide food and help to the needy, including starving children, elderly citizens, and pregnant women. Despite contracting the virus himself, he continued to assist others after his recovery. He even created a life-saving oxygen regulator using household items, which was praised by doctors both in India and abroad.
In his address at the meeting, Vishal Singh spoke about his mission to create a hunger-free world. He pointed out that India’s large population, along with issues like unemployment and poverty, has caused the country to fall on the Hunger Index. He urged people to contribute just one handful of grains daily to help create a hunger-free world.
He concluded by saying that through social participation, we can empower the people around us, meet their basic needs, and work together to build a stronger, more prosperous, and developed society.
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