Citytoday: New Delhi: Tuesday, May 22, 2018.
State-run Punjab
National Bank (PNB) has refused to disclose details of the audit or
investigation that led to detection of over Rs 13,000 crore fraud at the
company, citing a clause
that bars any disclosure that can impede the process of investigating or
apprehending the offenders.
In reply to
an RTI query, the state-owned bank also declined to share copy of inspection
reports related to the scam.
Since the
matter is under investigation by the central investigating agency/agencies/law
enforcement agency, providing of the desired information is exempted under
Section 8 (1)
(h) of the Right to Information Act, 2005, the PNB said in reply to the Right
To Information (RTI) application filed by a PTI correspondent.
The section
bars disclosure of information which would impede the process of investigation
or apprehension or prosecution of offenders.
The bank was
asked to provide details of inspection that resulted in detection of the fraud
and provide copy of inspection reports.
The scam,
considered to be the biggest ever in India’s history, was reported earlier this
year and involves PNB, the country’s second-largest state-owned bank, getting allegedly
defrauded by diamantaire Nirav Modi and his uncle Mehul Choksi, the promoter of
Gitanjali Gems.
Besides the
Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Income Tax and Enforcement Directorate,
the RBI has also started a detailed probe into the case for necessary action.
Replying to
an RTI query, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had also earlier declined to
share inspection reports
for scam-hit PNB. In response to queries under the transparency law, the central
bank had also clarified that the RBI does not carry out audit of banks, but conducts
inspection/risk-based supervision of banks.
Giving
details for the past ten years, the RBI gave dates for the annual inspection
carried out at the PNB head office between 2007 and 2017, except for 2011, for
which the banking regulator said the “dates (are) not available”.
When asked
about the copies of inspection reports and details of objections raised by it,
the RBI said the information was exempted under various clauses of the RTI Act.
The central bank had forwarded the RTI query for further details to PNB.
Incidentally,
market regulator Sebi has recently issued a warning letter to PNB for delay in
making disclosures about the Nirav Modi fraud.
Sebi observed
that there were delays ranging from one to six days by PNB in making various
disclosures to the stock exchanges pertaining to the filing of reports/complaints
with the RBI and CBI.
On May 15,
PNB said that its total liability now works out to Rs 14,356.84 crore on
account of the fraud allegedly carried out by Modi and Choksi, both of whom are
absconding.