The CBI arrested three bank employees on Saturday in connection with the ₹11,300-crore Punjab National Bank scam. These three employees were working in PNB's Breach Candy branch in Mumbai. The accused who have been arrested are the then Deputy Branch manager, Gokulnath Shetty, Manoj Kharat and Hemant Bhatt. Soon, the trio will be produced before a special CBI court.
The accused Manoj Kharat and Hamant Bhatt were at a high post in Nirav Modi’s company. The bank's then deputy manager Gokulnath Shetty and his associate Manoj Kharat have been accused of violating the rules laid down by the Reserve Bank while releasing the Letter of Undertaking (LOU). Likewise, a case has been registered against Shetty and Kharat on Friday night for carrying out a fraud of ₹4,868.70 lakh crore.
After a complaint was lodged against chief conspirator Nirav Modi of pulling out a scam worth ₹11,300 crore in Punjab National Bank, Modi along with his family fled the country.
The police are investigating the matter and they believe that Modi is in New York. Meanwhile, the CBI officials went to Shetty’s residence at Malad’s Rustomjee Ozone Complex and spoke to his relatives on Thursday and Friday. The CBI officials thoroughly investigated Shetty’s bank accounts, lockers, and other properties.
Meanwhile, PNB officials said that they have suspended guilty officials.
According to CBI sources, the number of accused arrested in this crime might go up.