Steps initiated by ICAI on Punjab National Bank Matter

The attention of Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) has been drawn to various media reports highlighting the irregularity happened in Punjab National Bank (PNB) revealing that the Bank has detected a $1.77 billion (about Rs.11,400 crore) wrongdoing  where a Jeweller Nirav Modi allegedly acquired fraudulent Letters of Undertaking (LOU) from a branch of PNB in Mumbai to secure overseas credit from other Indian lenders. These reports further reveal that CBI has since registered a case against  Nirav Modi and others on the basis of the complaint filed by PNB.  It has also come out that Enforcement Directorate (ED) is also conducting various raids and investigations in the matter.

In this regard, ICAI in consonance with its role as regulator considering the mammothness and modalities of the irregularity that has been perpetrated on the  Public Sector Bank, has suo-moto triggered its disciplinary mechanism by writing to the Bank concerned and also all other investigating agencies i.e. SEBI, ED and CBI requesting them to provide requisite details of their investigations in PNB matter.

The ICAI has on its own also constituted a High Power Group in this matter to study the systemic issues in the PNB matter and suggest remedial measures and improvement in the banking  system to ensure preventive measures to avoid such type of incidents.

It needs to be emphasised that ICAI would be actively pursuing the issue with the concerned agencies and stakeholders so as to examine the matter in detail to suggest improvements.

About ICAI : The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) is a statutory body established under the Chartered Accountants Act, 1949 for regulating the profession of Chartered Accountants in India. ICAI is the second largest accounting body in the world with a strong tradition of service to the public interest and to the Indian economy. During its more than 68 years of existence, ICAI has achieved recognition as a premier accounting body not only in the country but also globally, for maintaining highest standards in technical, ethical areas and for sustaining stringent examination and education standards.

Since 1949, the profession has grown leaps and bounds in terms of membership and student base. Starting with a handful of about 1700 members, today, the strength of Chartered Accountant fraternity has grown to more than 2.70 lakh members. On the education front, the ICAI began with mere 259 students and today about 8.00 lakh active students are a part of ICAI. The Institute functions under the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Government of India. It has its headquarters in New Delhi and 5 Regional offices in Chennai, Kanpur, Kolkata, Mumbai and New Delhi. It presently has 163 branches spread all over the country. In addition, it has also set up 31 chapters outside India and an overseas office in Dubai.