PNB fraud: Interpol asked to issue RCN against Nirav Modi's brother, another
New Delhi, June 13: The CBI has approached the Interpol to issue Red Corner Notice (RCN) against diamantiare Nirav Modi's brother Nishal and one of his executives in connection with its probe into the Rs 13,500 crore Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud, sources said on Wednesday.
"The agency has approached Interpol to issue RCN against Nirav Modi's brother Nishal, who is a Belgian national, and his executive Subhash Parab," said a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) official.
The agency's action comes two days after it sent a request to Interpol to issue a RCN against Nirav Modi and his uncle Mehul Choksi of the Gitanjali Group.
A RCN is a request to locate and provisionally arrest an individual pending extradition. It is issued by the General Secretariat at the request of a member country or an international tribunal based on a valid national arrest warrant.
The CBI has named Nirav Modi, Nishal and Parab beside 18 others in the first chargesheet that it filed in a Special court in Mumbai on May 14 in the case.
The CBI has also named PNB's former MD Usha Ananthasubramanian in its chargesheet in the scam.
The CBI had filed three FIRs between January and March to probe the PNB fraud. Most of the accused are common to these cases. The fraud was committed during 2011-17 by illegally issuing Letters of Undertaking (LoUs) and Foreign Letters of Credit (FLCs).
The CBI, in its first chargesheet had alleged that Nirav Modi, through his companies, siphoned off funds to the tune of Rs 6,498.20 crore using fraudulent LoUs issued from PNB's Brady House branch in Mumbai. Meanwhile, Choksi allegedly swindled Rs 7080.86 crore.
Nirav Modi left the country along with his family in the first week of January, weeks before the scam was reported to the CBI.
His wife Ami, a US citizen, left on January 6 and uncle Choksi on January 4.
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Criticism of PM Modi, repeated mentions of guarantees to be highlights of K’taka Budget: LoP Ashoka
Bengaluru (PTI): Leader of Opposition in the Karnataka Assembly R Ashoka on Thursday took a dig at CM Siddaramaiah ahead of the state Budget presentation, claiming that the government is expected to borrow Rs 1.15 lakh crore and is likely to impose fresh taxes on the people.
He said the Budget would have nothing new, adding that its highlights would be criticism of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and repeated mentions of the five guarantee schemes ('Shakti', 'Gruha Lakshmi', 'Gruha Jyoti, 'Yuva Nidhi' and 'Anna Bhagya').
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who also holds the Finance portfolio, is scheduled to present the 2026–27 Budget on March 6. This will be his record 17th budget.
“Siddaramaiah-led Congress government’s budget will be presented tomorrow. While Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman reduced the tax burden in the Union Budget, Siddaramaiah is known for imposing taxes on people. He imposes about four taxes a month and has already introduced 36 taxes, and is now looking for ways to impose more,” Ashoka said.
Speaking to reporters, he said the Congress had promised people before coming to power that the guarantee schemes would be implemented without imposing any burden on them.
“By the end of the chief minister’s term, the state’s total debt will probably exceed Rs 6 lakh crore. The government has already breached financial discipline. Siddaramaiah and his government are somehow managing the situation,” Ashoka claimed, adding that his borrowings as CM equal those of 12 or 13 former chief ministers combined.
Stating that the Budget should create higher revenue sources, ensure that no burden is placed on people, and take the state away from debt, the opposition leader said this could be ensured only by a “clever and intelligent finance minister.”
“Anyone can run a government by pushing the state into debt,” he said, accusing Siddaramaiah of “increasing the state’s debt and failing to meet the expectations of the people.”
Highlighting that Siddaramaiah blames the previous BJP government for everything, Ashoka said Basavaraj Bommai, the chief minister during the previous BJP government, had presented a “surplus budget,” without excessive borrowings.
“Despite having the opportunity to borrow more while staying within the parameters of financial discipline, he (Bommai) did not do so, as it would burden the people,” he said, accusing Siddaramaiah of borrowing crores of rupees every year.
“I feel that this time too, he will take a loan of Rs 1.15 lakh crore,” he claimed.
The BJP leader said he had written to the CM requesting an allocation of Rs 15,000 crore annually for the development of backward taluks, as recommended by the High Power Committee on Redressal of Regional Imbalance (HPCRRI), chaired by economist Prof M Govinda Rao.
Claiming that the government appears “inactive” due to internal rifts, Ashoka pointed to an ongoing power struggle between factions led by Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar over the CM’s post.
“Amid all this, we cannot expect anything new from this Budget. The CM will repeatedly speak about the guarantee schemes and target the central government and PM Modi. Criticising Modi and repeated mentions of the five guarantee schemes will be the highlight of this Budget. Other than that, there will be nothing new,” he added.
He also dismissed the CM's claim that the government had achieved 90 per cent of the promises made in the previous Budget. “The fact is that not even 9 per cent has been achieved. I have evidence for it,” he said.
Ashoka further alleged that the government had also failed in tax collection, achieving only 48 per cent of the target, and had released less than 40 per cent of the allocated funds to some departments.
