The CBI, which is probing an alleged swindle of Rs 12,600 crore of PNB money by diamantaires Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi, has now put loans of Rs 5,280 crore availed of by Choksi’s firms under the scanner. The loans were extended by a consortium of 31 banks led by ICICI Bank to Choksi’s companies. As reported by The Indian Express earlier, the ED has already put these loans under probe. The agency had sought details of the loans from these 31 banks. Agency officials on Wednesday said that while the agency’s focus remains on the fraudulent LoUs through which the jewellers swindled Rs 12,600 crore of Punjab National Bank, the loans of Rs 5,280 crore to the companies of Choksi in 2016 will come under its probe at a later stage. They said that a decision on whether to register a fresh FIR or expand the ambit of an existing FIR will be taken before proceeding with action in the matter. The agency had in February examined a senior ICICI Bank functionary too, they said. It is alleged that Choksi and Modi got LoUs and Foreign Letters of Credit (FLCs) of $2 billion issued in favour of foreign branches of Indian banks based on fraudulent claims. The accused PNB officials allegedly did not enter the instructions for these LoUs in their internal software to avoid scrutiny.
