PNB fraud: Lender’s shares down over 3% after internal report blames procedural lapses for Rs 14,000 crore scam

New Delhi: Shares of PNB fell by over 3 percent Thursday after an internal enquiry by the scam-hit firm found that the Rs 14,000-crore fraud perpetrated by Nirav Modi took place with the help of some officials of the bank’s Brady House branch in Mumbai and also due to procedural lapses. The stock declined 3.08 percent to settle at Rs 83.40 on BSE. During the day, it dropped 3.66 percent to Rs 82.90. [caption id=“attachment_4399335” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. Reuters.[/caption] On NSE, shares of the company fell by 3.30 percent to close at Rs 83.35. The company’s market valuation went down by Rs 730.82 crore to Rs 23,023.18 crore. In terms of equity volume, 13.81 lakh shares of the company were traded on the BSE and over one crore shares changed hands at NSE during the day. According to sources, the internal enquiry completed before handing over case to investigative agencies alleged that a group of employees at the Brady House branch issued fake letter of undertaking over several years to help Nirav Modi and his uncle Mehul Choksi raise billions of dollars in foreign credit, leading to country’s biggest-ever bank fraud. The over-200 pages internal report also alleged procedural lapses at several levels that go far beyond India and some of the branches of other state-owned lenders, sources said.