The department issued orders for provisional attachment of these accounts in various bank branches in Mumbai under the provisions of the Income Tax Act, 1961. There are around Rs 80 lakh in these accounts, official sources said.
In the complaint, PNB had named three diamond firms -- Diamonds R Us, Solar Exports and Stellar Diamonds -- saying they had approached it on January 16 with a request for buyers credit for making payment to overseas suppliers.
The bank branch, which is in the centre of one of the biggest financial scams of the country, was searched by the agency, the sources said, adding that "incriminating documents" related to the case were recovered.
PNB has detected a USD 1.77 billion scam where Nirav Modi allegedly acquired fraudulent LoUs from the Brady House branch of the bank in south Mumbai to secure overseas credit from other lenders.
The scam has "consequences for the economy of the nation", said special CBI judge S R Tamboli, remanding them in the central agency's custody till March 3.
ED had earlier said it had arrived at the value of the assets seized based on the stock value at showrooms and stores, which was also the price at which the company purchased the goods.
Singhvi said he reserved the right to take appropriate legal action against Sitharaman and a section of the media "which carry such false and maliciously defamatory allegations".
Rahul Gandhi said that the scam began with the decision to scrap Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency notes from the economy on November 8, 2016.
The BJP fielded Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to counter the Congress charge that the scam took place in 2017 under the Modi government when the letters of understanding were signed by the Punjab National Bank in favour of Nirav Modi.
This arrest comes a day after Punjab National Bank's retired deputy manager Shetty and operator were named in the second FIR of CBI along with 10 directors of three private firms.
As per the Central Bureau of Investigation, 143 LoUs were fraudulently issued to three Mumbai-based private companies of Nirav Modi's associate Choksi -- Gitanjali Gems, Nakshatra and Gili -- during the period 2017-18.
In further trouble for beleaguered jewellery designer Nirav Modi, the Income Tax Department today provisionally attached 29 properties and 105 bank accounts of the diamond merchant, his family and firms as part of its tax evasion probe.
The CBI has alleged in the FIR that accused bank officials Shetty and Kharat in connivance with accused companies and others defrauded PNB to the tune of Rs 4,886.70 crore, the CBI spokesperson said.
The Reserve Bank warned of "appropriate supervisory action", saying it is assessing the control systems at Punjab National Bank (PNB).
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