The crackdown by I-T Department comes a day after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) launched an investigation 79 shell companies owned by the Gitanjali Group chief Mehul Choksi and 41 owned by Modi in India.
Banking operations failure, RBI's gaffe, auditors' carelessness and mistakes committed by banks which gave out loans based on LoUs issued by PNB, they all contributed to India's biggest corporate fraud.
Attorney General K K Venugopal, appearing for the Centre, said he was opposing the PIL on various grounds, including that an inquiry has started after the FIR was registered.
The CBI has registered two cases involving Modi and Choksi. These relate to fraudulent issuance of 150 Letters of Undertaking (LoU) (a kind of bank guarantee) worth Rs 6,498 crore and 143 LoUs worth Rs 4,886 crore.
News agency ANI reported that the official, who has been identified as Rajesh Jindal, was taken into custody by the country’s premier investigating agency last night.
The plea filed in SC has asked for a special investigation team (SIT) to probe PNB fraud involving billionaire jewellers Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi.
The panel will be headed by former RBI board member YH Malegam. Malegam, considered country’s most respected auditor, had earlier led several RBI committees on important reform measures.
Breaking his silence over the fraud at country’s second-biggest bank, Jaitley on Tuesday said that the state was duty-bound to ensure those cheating the system are brought to justice.
Vipul Ambani is the top executive handling the finances of the firm of billionaire jeweller Nirav Modi, who is the kingpin of the country’s biggest ever bank fraud.
Goyal, who holds railways and coal ministries, said this while replying to a question regarding alleged swindling of bank money by billionaire Nirav Modi and his associates.
Those arrested on Monday are Bechhu Tiwari, Chief Manager in charge of Forex Department, Yashwant Joshi, a Scale II Manager in the same department and Praful Sawant, a Scale I officer in the Exports Section.
The statement from RBI comes hours after Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said that the PNB scam was a result of a failure of management and auditors.
A Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) team also conducted raids at diamantaire Nirav Modi's Alibaug farmhouse near Mumbai which has a palatial bungalow.
Expressing his anger at the functioning of the banks, the finance minister said that the functioning of banks depends on trust, the relationship of borrower and the lender.
Following the biggest scam in the country's banking sector to the tune of Rs 11,340 crore at state-run Punjab National Bank (PNB), Moody's today placed the lender under review for downgrade.
According to sources, the I-T has written letters to its counterpart agencies of these countries. The tax department said that Modi may have parked money in tax havens.
In its letter, the Department of Financial Services sought the Central bank’s view on the lapses in the banking system and steps required to check recurrence of such incidents, news agency PTI reported quoting sources.
The CBI has already registered two FIRs -- one on January 31 and another a few days ago -- against billionaire diamond merchant Nirav Modi, his relative Mehul Choksi of Gitanjali Gems and others for allegedly defrauding the PNB of about Rs 11,400 cr.
The bank, one of the most active lenders in the gems and jewellery sector, however has a "small" exposure to Gitanjali Gems, promoted by Modi's uncle Mehul Choksi which is also an accused in the Rs 11,400-crore fraud.
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