Two days after filing the first chargesheet in the PNB fraud case, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Wednesday registered the second chargesheet in the Mumbai Sessions Court on the basis of a case registered on 15th February. While the first one was filed for INR 12,636 Crores, the second one has been filed for INR 7,080.86 Crores.
This chargesheet filed on 16th May covers 142 letters of undertaking (LOU) along with 58 foreign letters of credit (FLC). As per the reports, CBI has named 18 entities and individuals, including some top PNB officials like Managing Director and CEO Usha Ananthasubramaniam and two Executive Directors namely Bramhaji Rao and Sanjiv Sharan.
The two Executive Directors Sharan and Rao have been charged under Sec 409 of IPC for criminal breach of trust, section 420 of IPC for cheating and Sec 13(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act for criminal breach of trust to the public and causing wrongful losses to the bank.
Also Read: Fraud Hit PNB Reports Biggest ever Quarterly Loss for an Indian Lender
As per the chargesheet, former PNB Deputy Manager Gokulnath Shetty credited an amount of INR 2.28 Crores to the Gitanjali exports account during 2015 to 2018. The account was maintained with PNB Brady House Branch in Mumbai where Mehul Choksi (uncle and alleged partner of Nirav Modi) was the Managing Director. Reportedly, Shetty got INR 1.02 Crores through cheque for crediting this amount.
Meanwhile PNB officials like Usha Ananthasubramaniam and two Executive Directors and General Manager (International Operations) Nehal Ahad “omitted” to safeguard the interest of the bank in spite of a circular and caution notice. They facilitated the fraud committed by others.
Out of INR 7080 Crores mentioned in the second FIR in the PNB fraud case, CBI has already found evidence in 6 foreign letter of credit (FLC) and 6 letter of undertakings (LOU) amounting to INR 512 Crores in 12 transactions.
