Manoj Kharat's father says 'PNB framed my son'

Pune (Maharashtra) [India] Feb. 20 (ANI): A father has said that Punjab National Bank (PNB) has framed his son in the Nirav Modi fraud case of over Rs 11000 crore.

Hanumant Kharat, whose son Manoj Kharat has been arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the PNB fraud case, told ANI on Monday, "The entire banking system is faulty. My son has been framed by the PNB in the Nirav Modi fraud case."

Apart from Manoj, the CBI has also arrested Gokulnath Shetty, a former Deputy Manager at the Punjab National Bank (PNB), for helping Modi conduct fraudulent transactions for over 11,000 crore.

Hanumant further questioned that how could an employee commit fraud worth crores of rupees whose authority is to deal with amount not more than Rs. 25000?

"What is my son's authority and post? They have done grave injustice to my son. The power of a clerk is only to deal with amount of Rs. 20000-25000. What is the salary of my son? His starting salary was Rs 17000 and after 2.5 years, his salary is Rs. 23000. How could the bank entrust responsibility of crores of rupees on him?" Hanumant wondered.

He added: "It seems that the higher authorities must have been committing wrong deeds through such junior new employees, who do not know anything."

According to the CBI, Gokulnath Shetty and Manoj had issued eight letters of understanding (LOU) worth over Rs. 280 crore to Nirav Modi's company just three months before Shetty retired in May. The LOUs were issued in February. The due date mentioned was January 2018.

The PNB has lodged two financial fraud complaints of Rs. 11400 crore and Rs 280 crore against famous designer jeweler Nirav Modi, his family members and Mehul Choksi, the owner of Gitanjali Gems.

The CBI filed a formal case charging four- Nirav Modi, his wife Ami, brother Nishal and Mehul Choksi- on January 31 over Rs. 280 crore fraud.

The Enforcement Directorate has conducted raids in many cities at various properties belonging to Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi. (ANI)