Fraudulent LoUs being issued since 2008 says PNB scam accused Gokulnath Shetty

Gokulnath Shetty, the retired bank official arrested in connection with the PNB scam has said that the fraudulent issue of letters of undertaking have been taking place since 2008.

The statement of the retired PNB official was conveyed to the special court when the CBI was seeking remand of the accused. The court had remanded three PNB officials to police custody until March 3.

The special judge, S R Tamboli said that there is a possibility of the involvement of bank officers in diverting money of the bank. This needs to be investigated and the IO needs to confront the accused with various documents. The offence has a wide effect on the economy of the nation and hence a fair chance needs to be given to the investigating officer for further probe, the court said.

The CBI also said that the accused persons had shifted the entire blame on Shetty. The CBI also said that the accused persons were not cooperating with the agency and hence their further remand would be needed.

The CBI in its FIR alleged that, that Shetty and a single window operator, Manoj Kharat, during their forex department posting, fraudulently issued eight LoUs equivalent to Rs 280 crore on February 9, 10 and 14, 2017, in favour of Allahabad Bank, Hong Kong, and Axis Bank, Hong Kong, without following prescribed procedure. It added that the funds raised for import bills were not utilised for such purposes in many cases.

OneIndia News