Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi never gave concrete repayment plan: PNB

New Delhi: Punjab National Bank (PNB) MD Sunil Mehta on Thursday said his bank is pursuing a clean banking system and when it learned about the fraud it immediately alerted the investigative agencies. Addressing a press conference on the Nirav Modi case, Mehta said, “when we learned about the fraud, we went to law enforcement agencies to book the culprits and take legal action. We informed all our lenders about it being in line with the clean banking system.” The Enforcement Directorate today raided offices, showrooms and workshops of billionaire diamond trader Nirav Modi. ED teams carried out simultaneous raids on Modi's in Mumbai, Surat (Gujarat) and New Delhi. Mehta said they are taking efforts to protect the financial interest of the bank. “We request the media to give us some breathing time to book the culprits.” “We are in touch with all our stake holders.  SEBi has been informed. We are practicing clean banking. We will honour all our bona fide commitments,” he asserted. Mehta said apart from customers Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi, the bank’s two staff members have been complained about to the investigative agencies. Mehta said Rs 11,360 crore first started in 2011 but action was taken when the bank detected it in last week of January this year. “The fraud was detected in the third week of January and a case was filed with CBI on January 30,” he said. Mehta insisted that it was a “standalone incident in one of their branches.” He said he had received a "vague email" from the customers about settling the dues and the bank had asked them to send their detailed response."Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi did not give any concrete repayment plan to the bank." Meanwhile the Congress has alleged that the scam is estimated to reach up to Rs 30,000 cr  and has called it the “biggest scam since Independence”.