Thursday 15 February 2018

PNB fraud: All you need to know about the Rs11,000cr scam

https://qz.com/1208133/punjab-national-bank-fraud-nirav-modi-accused-of-swindling-1-8-billion-was-with-narendra-modi-at-davos-just-weeks-ago/ 

https://www.ndtv.com/opinion/10-questions-for-arun-jaitley-on-nirav-modi-scam-1813252


Punjab National Bank has detected a ~Rs11,000cr scam where billionaire jeweller Nirav Modi acquired fraudulent Letters of Undertaking (LoUs) following which PNB has suspended its ~10 employees in connection with the case. However, the bank did not specify the quatum of liabiltiy for the bank and if the alleged fraudulent LoUs were backed by cash margins.

What is a Letter of Undertaking?
A Letter of Undertaking (LoU) is an assurance given by one bank to another to meet a liability on behalf of a customer. LoUs are used in international banking transactions. An LoU is issued for overseas import remittances. This transaction involves four parties. (A local issuing bank, an overseas receiving bank, an importer and a beneficiary in overseas).

How it works?
Importer applies to local issuing bank, which then issues LoU in favour of overseas branches of Indian banks. Based on this, foreign branches issue buyer’s credit. Hence, in essence, LoU is a promise to pay. LoUs are communicated through a Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) instruction. A SWIFT instruction represents a consent from bank, which passes from multiple layers of checks. LoU is commonly used in Jewellery and Gems businesses, which involves large number of international commercial transactions.

Allegations by PNB
PNB stated that its two employees issued buyers’ credit allegedly and communicated SWIFT instructions to the overseas branches of Indian banks, without making entries in the banking system. The instructions were to raise LoUs for Nirav Modi’s firms, Diamond R US, Solar Exports, and Stellar Diamonds.

Impact on PNB
According to the complaint, the LoUs were issued for the overseas branches of Allahabad Bank and Axis Bank, post which these banks have given money to the beneficiary entity on behalf of Modi’s firms. As a result, (as per Hong Kong Monetary Authority norms) PNB will have to settle the LoUs with these branches. This may result in higher provisioning for the next few quarters in PNB’s books if it is unable to recover the money.

No comments: