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<ul><li>The State Bank of India overstated its profits by as much as ₹9,500 crore for three years in between 2012-13 to 2014-15, according<a href="https://www.moneylife.in/article/exclusive-rbi-inspection-reports-on-sbi-reveal-evergreening-window-dressing-cover-ups-and-worse/57631.html"> </a>an expose by Moneylife.</li><li>The revelations came out of a Right To Information (RTI) application.</li><li>The country’s largest bank has suppressed employee fraud, covered bad loans, flouted anti-money laundering rules, covered up bad loans by a mechanism referred to as ‘window dressing’.</li><li>In many cases, the bank has not enforced securities provided on a loan, and loans were disbursed even before a charge was created on the collateral.</li></ul> A fourth of the country’s bank deposits are making their way to State Bank of India (SBI). But, how safe is it there? According<a href="https://www.moneylife.in/article/exclusive-rbi-inspection-reports-on-sbi-reveal-evergreening-window-dressing-cover-ups-and-worse/57631.html"> to an expose by Moneylife</a>, the bank has overstated its profits by as much as ₹9,500 crore for three years in between 2012-13 to 2014-15. What makes it worse is that all this information is available with the banking regulator, Reserve Bank of India (RBI), and the dated details came out after a petition was filed under the Right to Information (RTI) Act, by an activist Girish Mittal. <table style="border-width: initial; border-style: none;"></colgroup><tbody><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;">Year </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;">Overstated profit </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;">2012-13 </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;">₹1,220 crore </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;">2013-14 </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;">₹5,038 crore </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;">2014-15 </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;">₹3,252 crore </td></tr></tbody></table> Source: Money Life There were two chairpersons running the bank during the period-- Pratip Chaudhuri was the chairman from 2011 to 2013 as Arundhati Bhattacharya too charge to stay on till 2017. SBI’s box of troubles The annual inspection of banks’ accounts by RBI has opened a Pandora’s Box where many evils came out—where the country’s largest bank has suppressed employee fraud, covered bad loans, flouted anti-money laundering rules, covered up bad loans by a mechanism referred to as ‘window dressing’, according to the report. An e-mail sent to SBI seeking answers on the revelations, did not elicit any response. Most Indian banks were found guilty of trying to hide the rising problem of bad loans. They would either give fresh loans to pay old ones or book the losses in a different year to soften the blow on the company’s financials. In SBI’s case, the RTI response reportedly revealed that these factors were seen in the loans given out to diamond trading and power sector. Loans to diamond traders have brought down banks, especially Punjab National Bank scam where diamantaire Nirav Modi made away with unpaid loans of ₹2 billion and is now in the UK. Yet, SBI is not in as much trouble, not from RBI who is aware of the situation, not from its 435 million customers --- that’s over 30% of India’s population! Like Goldman Sachs, it is everywhere and, probably, too big to fail. Flouting Norms The report says that the bank also flouted norms laid down by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) itself with regards to Know Your Customer (KYC), lending limits set on sectors and individuals. The bank, as per the report, was also lax with its loans. In many cases, the bank has not enforced securities provided on a loan, wherein assets of defaulters are taken over. In some cases loans were disbursed even before a charge was created on the collateral. And, the suppression of data has happened at every level since most of the credit problems were never taken to the board as well. Scrubbing it clean In all, the bank performed a clean-up exercise every time a new chairman took over. The first year a new chairman comes in, huge amounts are written off the books, and has become a common practice with the bank. This leaves the chairman of the bank concentrating on ‘managing profits’. The owner of the bank however is the government. And it seems to be doing its part too. As non-performing assets as a result of bad loans increased and credit growth slowed down, the government is looking to recharge public sector banks (PSBs) with fresh funds. In the latest Budget 2019, the Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that they would be giving out as much as ₹75,000 crore to re-capitalise government banks, so that they can kickoff growth in the country, with renewed interest. The mistakes of the past have been conveniently forgotten. SEE ALSO 
 <div type="NEWSINCONTEXT" target="false" refhostid="261" refmsid="69557477" refmstype="2" refmssubtype="0"><cdata><![CDATA[An Indian bank is still making the same mistake of hiding the worst and hoping for the best]]></cdata></div>


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India’s largest bank was caught lying about its profits for 3 years but no one got punished, according to an expose

<ul><li>The income tax department of India recovered ₹ 548 million from the paintings owned by <keyword id="6242396" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="PNB-scam">PNB scam</keyword> accused Nirav Modi. </li><li>The department targeted a value of ₹970 million from the auction event held in Mumbai. </li><li>Camelot Enterprises, Nirav Modi’s company has filed a petition in the Bombay High Court for auctioning the paintings — calling the move unlawful.</li></ul>A few days ago, Punjab National Bank(PNB) scam accused Nirav Modi was arrested in London. The income tax department of India, today, auctioned the seized artwork paintings at the Saffron Art Gallery in Mumbai. <a href="https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/nirav-modi-paintings-go-under-hammer-fetch-over-rs-54-crore-for-income-tax-department-1487311-2019-03-27">According to media reports</a>, the government recovered nearly ₹548 million by selling 55 of the 68 paintings during the bidding session that went on for more than two hours. However, the income tax department expected to recover ₹970 million from the event. The collection, in total, fetched ₹609 million. The auction included bidders from London, New York and New Delhi among others, bidding online for the paintings. As the auction took place, on Wednesday, Camelot Enterprises. Nirav Modi’s company, has filed a petition against the auction of paintings in the Bombay High Court calling the move unlawful. The company also said a few of those paintings are actually company’s assets, demanding to restrict the auction. Ranging from thousands to millions, the paintings were the artwork by renowned Indian painters including Raja Ravi Verma, FN Souza, Jogen Chowdhury, VS Gaitonde and Akbar Padamsee. For instance, Raja Ravi Verma’s oil on canvas from 1881 was sold at ₹140 million. Of the 55 painting sold during the auction, the highest amount fetched from a painting was recorded at ₹220 million and nearly 10 paintings touched the ₹<a href="https://indianexpress.com/article/india/nirav-modi-in-london-prison-his-art-under-mumbai-hammer-i-t-recovers-rs-54-8-crore-5644486/">10 million mark</a>. While, the 13 unsold paintings include a few by Chinese painters including a Miao Xiaochun piece. The paintings were sold at a Goods &amp; Services Tax (GST) of 12% along with a 15% commission for the auction house. Nirav Modi’s legal team is expected to file the second bail application in the UK court on Friday since he denied the first bail application on March 20. The CBI will send a team to Londom for the hearing on 29 March, ANI reported. Earlier, the ED reportedly <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/nirav-modi-arrested-in-london/articleshow/68496650.cms">seized around</a> ₹6.4 billion from Nirav Modi’s assets including his property, bank deposits and jewellery. See also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/nirav-modi-arrested-in-london/articleshow/68496650.cms">Here’s how the 13-month chase for Nirav Modi came to an end</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india-presses-new-charges-against-diamond-merchant-nirav-modi-and-wife-ami-in-alleged-money-laundering-case/articleshow/68367950.cms">India presses new charges against diamond merchant Nirav Modi and wife Ami in alleged money laundering case</a>

India has seized over ₹548 million worth of paintings from Nirav Modi’s art collection including prized work by VS Gaitonde

<ul><li>The <keyword id="571991" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Nirav-Modi">Nirav Modi</keyword> <keyword id="41357" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Scam">scam</keyword> is technology vs human ingenuity. </li><li>It's not a cybercrime, but it's certainly a bank heist.</li><li>Bankers and Modi's staff misused the <keyword id="6360068" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="swift">SWIFT</keyword> system to build a $1.6 billion scam.</li></ul> Technology is only as strong as the humans using it. That pretty much sums up the Nirav Modi scam that came to light last week. The parties involved misused the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications (SWIFT) money transfer system, and their personal positions within <keyword id="62034" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Punjab-National-Bank">Punjab National Bank</keyword> to build a $1.6 billion (or more) scam. At its core, the Nirav Modi scam is a hack, though it can't really be labeled as cybercrime. <keyword id="6242884" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="gokulnath-shetty">Gokulnath Shetty</keyword>, deputy branch manager at a <keyword id="47268" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="PNB">PNB</keyword> branch in South Mumbai, had the passwords required to log into the SWIFT system. That allowed him to effectively game the system in favour of Modi's firms. But what is SWIFT? And how is a password enough to send $ 1.6 billion down the drain? The anatomy of a bank heist When money is transferred overseas, banks inform the same to the country's treasury. The treasury then informs another country's treasury, which in turn tells the bank in that other country to transfer the funds. But, as powerful as the treasury is, it cannot do so without a branch manager's consent. The branch manager in question here is the bank branch that originally got the transfer request. This consent (from the bank's branch manager) is issued through SWIFT messages. You could call it the world's most powerful messaging system. SWIFT is an inter-bank messaging system that doesn't transfer any money but informs banks around the world that loans or fund transfers have been authorised. SWIFT messages are sent in set formats and hold information relevant to a particular transfer. In the Nirav Modi scam, the Letters of Understanding (LoU) in question were issued through SWIFT. Unlike the $81 million Bangladesh Bank hack of 2016, there was no malware involved in this case. The malware here were humans, armed with passwords. A CBI source told <a href="https://thewire.in/225297/nirav-modis-team-given-unauthorised-access-pnb-systems-cbi-sources/" data-type="tilCustomLink">The Wire</a> that - "Modi's staff were logging into the SWIFT system using passwords of PNB officials, including Shetty, in the capacity of verifier/authoriser and enabling the fraudulent SWIFT messages." What this means is that the accused were issuing and approving the consent of their own accord. Core Banking System (CBS) But there's a failsafe for that as well. Consent issued via SWIFT are eventually supposed to tie in with a bank's core system. This is the technology allowing various bank branches to inter-operate. The Core Banking System and the SWIFT system are separate systems, requiring manual input for SWIFT messages into the CBS. This is where PNB's oversight comes into the picture. A LoU issued via the SWIFT system is supposed to be manually entered into the CBS at some point. Somehow, no one did that, and no one asked either. The result? $ 1.6 billion or more in the hands of diamond sellers. (Image courtesy: PTI)

Nirav Modi Scam: How to game an age-old banking system for $1.6 billion

In February 2018, it came to light that celebrity diamantaire <keyword id="571991" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Nirav-Modi">Nirav Modi</keyword> and his uncle <keyword id="2763" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Mehul-Choksi">Mehul Choksi</keyword> had defrauded Punjab National Bank (<keyword id="47268" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="PNB">PNB</keyword>), India’s second-largest state-owned bank, of more than ₹130 billion ($2 billion). By using illegal letters of guarantee procured through PNB’s Brady House branch in Mumbai, the pair and their affiliates had taken loans from the overseas branches of a number of Indian banks since 2011 and had subsequently defaulted on them. In the ensuing months, the country’s top investigative agencies, such as the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), filed chargesheets against Modi and Choksi and also accused a number of senior officials at the concerned banks, including the former CEO of PNB, Usha Ananthasubramanian, of being complicit. Concurrently, PNB conducted its own investigation into the matter which concluded recently. The 162-page internal report, which has been reviewed by Reuters, revealed the extent to which the <keyword id="38935" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Fraud">fraud</keyword> touched most of the branch’s operations and found a lot more officials guilty of negligence and/or facilitating the transactions. Here are its main findings:- Over 1,200 credit guarantees were approved Gokulnath Shetty, the deputy general manager of the branch at Brady House, allegedly approved more than 1,200 letters of guarantee over the period in question - 2011 to 2017. He was reportedly supposed to be transferred to another branch but was kept at the branch on the insistence of senior officials. After joining the Brady House branch in 2010 as a foreign exchange officer, Shetty became responsible for authorising transactions over the SWIFT network. However, despite the fact that he was only allowed to approve transactions of ₹2.5 million or less, he did not log the transactions on the bank’s internal systems. This enabled him to authorise larger credit sums without detection. An audit of the bank’s SWIFT system was supposed to take place in 2016 As per instructions from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), PNB was supposed to undertake a review of its SWIFT financial communication systems in lieu of a possible upgrade. However, the audit did not take place. The bank’s systems were extremely outdated. The bank’s officials had failed to the integrate the bank’s SWIFT platform with its internal software for recording transactions. The fraud involved people at several levels in several branches While it's easy to pin the blame on the people at the helm of PNB, in reality, the fraud was facilitated by people at multiple levels of the bank - senior executives, deputy managers, assistant managers, inspection officers and even clerks. While it may have been orchestrated by a few people, a number of a monitoring and compliance lapses prevented the transactions from being identified sooner. And it extended to other branches as well. For example, the New Delhi office was responsible for the reconciliation and verification of international banking and foreign exchange transactions. Furthermore, a number of discrepancies were flagged in annual inspection reports and memos, but no one acted on them. Even a dubious 50% surge in transactions in the year ended March 2017 did not prompt an investigation. All in all, 54 people were named in the internal report. This likely includes <a href="https://www.businesstoday.in/sectors/banks/pnb-fraud-bank-ceo-sunil-mehta-nirav-modi-suspended-21-officials-internal-probe-underway/story/274664.html">the 21 officers who were suspended</a> in April, pending the conclusion of the inquiry. At the time, PNB’s CEO Sunil Mehta alluded to the possibility that more people would be suspended. The internal report has been handed over to the police and relevant authorities as part of the evidence they’re building in the case against Nirav Modi. It will likely result in a lot more additions to the chargesheet. Meanwhile, Modi is still said to <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/nirav-modi-travelled-from-london-to-brussels-on-indian-passport-last-week/articleshow/64629762.cms">be travelling freely</a>. A lot of people will go down as a result of the case, but the big whale still proves elusive for the time being.

Here are the main findings from Punjab National Bank’s internal investigation into the $2 billion Nirav Modi scam

Mumbai, Jun 9 () At a time when the financial sector is passing through a rough patch and looking at ways to conserve capital, country's second largest lender Punjab National Bank (PNB) has bought three Audi cars to ferry its top management. According to sources, the PNB took the delivery of these high-end luxury cars worth approximately Rs 1.34 crore last month, unmindful of the coronavirus outbreak, subsequent nation-wide lockdown and its crippling effect on the financial sector as well as the economy. The annual depreciation on this purchase will be around about Rs 20 lakh, sources said. These luxury cars, sources said, will be used by the managing director (MD) and two senior executive directors. Besides the MD, there are four executive directors given the size and scale of operation of the bank. These cars were purchased after the approval from the board and within the sanctioned limit for the whole-time directors, sources said, adding, this is a part of routine replacement and the unutilised Budget of the last year was carried forward for the purchase. Interestingly, the secretaries in the union government and even Cabinet ministers use Maruti Suzuki Ciaz, much less expensive than German car Audi purchased by the PNB. In protocol, the managing director of a public sector bank is equivalent to an additional secretary in the central government. Even the chairman of the country's largest lender State Bank of India who is considered a notch above the managing director of any nationalised bank uses Toyota Corolla Altis when in capital. In the wake of COVID crisis, the finance ministry last week asked all ministries and departments not to initiate any new scheme in the current financial year and said that there is a need to use resources prudently in these difficult times. Also, schemes that are already approved for the current financial year will remain suspended till March 31 next year or further orders. This would also include those schemes for which in-principle approval has been given by the respective departments. According to an office memorandum of the department of expenditure in the finance ministry, the changes have been made as there is a need to use resources prudently in accordance with emerging and changing priorities. It is to be noted that Punjab National Bank suffered heavily due to the Rs 14,000 crore Nirav Modi scam, which was unearthed in 2018. Nirav Modi and his uncle Mehul Choksi duped PNB of Rs 14,000 crore through issuance of fraudulent Letters of Undertaking (LoUs), in connivance with certain bank officials. For the third quarter ended January 2020, the bank reported a loss of Rs 501.93 crore due to substantial increase in bad loan provisioning. The bank had posted a net profit of Rs 249.75 crore for the same period a year ago. The bank made a provisioning of Rs 4,445.36 crore for bad loans during the quarter under review as against Rs 2,565.77 crore parked aside for the year-ago period. DP HV CS MKJ

PNB buys 3 Audi cars for top management amid COVID-led financial downturn

<ul><li>One in every five diamond worker in <keyword id="6359081" type="LOCATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Surat">Surat</keyword> may lose his job because of weak market trends. </li><li>The <keyword id="6358907" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="unemployment">unemployment</keyword> issue arises due to the <keyword id="906426" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="import-duty-hike">import duty hike</keyword> by the central government to narrow current deficit account. </li><li>The industry was already struggling with low global demands and Asian currency fluctuations lately. </li></ul>The recent move by the central government to hike import duty on 19 non-essential goods to boost ‘Make in India’ is adversely affecting the world’s largest diamond processing centre in Surat - which <a href="https://www.giaindia.in/take-your-rightful-place-in-surats-sparkling-diamond-industry/">exports 95% diamonds </a>globally. One in every five diamond workers may lose his job in the coming six months. Following the increase in import duty, the Indian <keyword id="48154" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Diamond-industry">diamond industry</keyword> lost its dominance over the global market. The global business traders are now looking at China and Thailand to cater to their demand. The unemployment challenge comes in with a weak demand for diamonds in the global market due to the US-China trade war. Surat’s diamond industry - which employs over 4.5 lac workers is likely to lose around 1 lac job in the next two quarters. In order to absorb the widening <keyword id="183320" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="current-account-deficit">current account deficit</keyword> and deal with currency devaluation, the Indian government raised the import duty levied on cut and polished diamonds from 5% to 7.5%. The import duty hike has just added more misery to the diamond industry which was suffering from slow overseas demand, liquidity crisis and weak trends of Asian currency. Import of cut and polished diamonds have <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/cons-products/fashion-/-cosmetics-/-jewellery/free-cars-versus-job-losses-irony-is-sharper-than-a-diamond-in-surat/articleshow/66379672.cms">plummeted</a> to ₹5,289.35 crore in FY 2018 which is 32% less in than the previous year. The industry was also negatively impacted by the Nirav Modi scam and that has made it difficult for the industry to balance liquidity. The companies do not have <a href="https://www.timesnownews.com/business-economy/industry/article/at-least-1-lakh-diamond-industry-workers-may-lose-jobs-in-next-6-months-report/304945">sufficient funds</a> to ensure their sustainability either. This is not the first time that a decision made by the Modi-government has had an adverse impact on the diamond industry. Earlier, the industry was struggling because of the ban levied on the use of 500 and 1,000 currency notes in India. Surprisingly, despite India marking its presence among the top 100 economies when it comes to ease of doing business, the traders working at Surat’s diamond manufacturing unit have not been having the best of runs.

World’s largest diamond industry faces unemployment issue post import duty hike in India

Nirav Modi was arrested a short while ago in London. 13 months ago, it came to light that celebrity diamantaire Nirav Modi and his uncle Mehul Choksi had defrauded <keyword id="62034" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Punjab-National-Bank">Punjab National Bank</keyword> (PNB), India’s second-largest state-owned bank, of more than <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/here-are-the-main-findings-from-punjab-national-banks-internal-investigation-into-the-2-billion-nirav-modi-scam/articleshow/64681851.cms">₹143 billion ($2.1 billion)</a>. By using illegal letters of guarantee procured through PNB’s Brady House branch in Mumbai, the pair and their affiliates had taken loans from the overseas branches of a number of Indian banks since 2011 and had subsequently defaulted on them. A warrant for Modi’s arrest was issued by a Westminister Court on March 18th. The warrant came a week after he was spotted on the streets of London with a full beard. Here is how the events leading up to his arrest unfolded. Early January 2018: Nirav Modi reportedly <a href="https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/nation/nirav-modi-fled-india-on-jan-1/544819.html">leaves India</a>. January 29th, 2018: Punjab National Bank filed a complaint with the CBI alleging that Nirav Modi, his uncle Mehul Choksi and their associates had swindled the bank through transactions at its Brady House branch in Mumbai. February 15th, 2018: India’s Enforcement Directorate registers a money laundering case against Nirav Modi and his associates under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. Early March 2018: The UK’s Serious Fraud Office <a href="https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/why-nirav-modi-wanted-in-india-is-roaming-the-streets-of-london-2006007">confirms</a> to India in early March that Nirav Modi is in London. April 5th, 2018: Regulators in Belgium <a href="https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/pnb-fraud-case-belgium-freezes-two-nirav-modi-accounts-on-ed-request/article23440305.ece?utm_source=pushnotifications&amp;utm_campaign=pushnotifications)">freeze </a>the two bank accounts of Modi after a request from the ED to do so. April 8th, 2018: A court in Mumbai issues <a href="https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/non-bailable-warrant-issued-against-nirav-modi-mehul-choksi-in-pnb-scam-1834399">non-bailable arrest warrants</a> for Modi and Choksi at the CBI’s request. June 13th, 2018: The CBI approached Interpol to issue a red notice against Modi and Choksi. A red notice is a request to locate and arrest a criminal on the run, but not an international arrest warrant. June 29th, 2018: Interpol issues <a href="https://indianexpress.com/article/india/nirav-modi-pnb-fraud-case-arrest-close-as-cbi-sends-extradition-plea-to-uk-5316602/">a red corner notice</a> against Modi, thereby enabling the cooperation of international police. August 20th 2018: The extradition process against Nirav Modi <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/billionaire-fugitive-nirav-modi-could-be-arrested-in-the-uk-as-soon-as-this-week/articleshow/65483882.cms">is initiated</a>. An application is lodged with the UK Home Office. However, the application is reportedly missing certain documents, which causes <a href="https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/waiting-for-uk-to-respond-to-extradition-request-says-india-after-nirav-modi-seen-in-london-2005117">proceedings</a> to be delayed. October 1st, 2018: The ED seizes around <a href="https://www.indiatoday.in/business/story/assets-of-nirav-modi-worth-rs-637-crore-seized-by-ed-1353236-2018-10-01">₹6.4 billion </a>of Nirav Modi’s assets. This includes properties in India and abroad as well as jewelry and bank deposits. March 8th, 2019: The UK Home Office certified India’s extradition request, deeming Nirav Modi’s case “fit for extradition”. The case was then transferred to the District Court in Westminister, which had to issue the summons. March 9th, 2019: The Telegraph, a UK daily, <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/03/08/exclusive-indias-wanted-man-nirav-modi-accused-15bn-fraud/">broke the news </a>that Nirav Modi was living in London. The newspaper said it had tracked Modi down to his £8 million (₹726 million) flat in London’s West End. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/billionaire-fugitive-nirav-modi-could-be-arrested-in-the-uk-as-soon-as-this-week/articleshow/65483882.cms">Billionaire fugitive Nirav Modi could be arrested in the UK as soon as this week</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india-presses-new-charges-against-diamond-merchant-nirav-modi-and-wife-ami-in-alleged-money-laundering-case/articleshow/68367950.cms">India presses new charges against diamond merchant Nirav Modi and wife Ami in alleged money laundering case</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/here-are-the-main-findings-from-punjab-national-banks-internal-investigation-into-the-2-billion-nirav-modi-scam/articleshow/64681851.cms">Here are the main findings from Punjab National Bank’s internal investigation into the $2 billion Nirav Modi scam</a>

Here’s how the 13-month chase for Nirav Modi came to an end

<ul><li>The non-executive chairman of <keyword id="45660" type="DOMAIN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Yes-Bank">Yes Bank</keyword>, <keyword id="46928" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Ashok-Chawla">Ashok Chawla</keyword>, submitted his resignation on 14 November. </li><li>The move is a significant blow for Yes Bank, which was counting on Chawla to steady the ship ahead of the departure of CEO <keyword id="128581" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Rana-Kapoor">Rana Kapoor</keyword>, whose tenure will not be extended past January 2019 following an order from the <keyword id="30067" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="RBI">RBI</keyword>. </li><li>In July 2018, Chawla, who is a former secretary of the finance ministry, was named in a chargesheet filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation in relation to the Aircel-Maxis case. </li></ul> Yes Bank, one of India’s largest private sector banks, hasn’t had an easy go as of late. Just a few months after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) refused to extend the tenure of its CEO and founder Rana Kapoor, precipitating <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/one-of-indias-largest-private-banks-has-lost-more-than-half-its-market-value-in-37-days/articleshow/65991141.cms">a crash in its market value</a>, its non-executive chairman, Ashok Chawla, has resigned. On Wednesday, the bank <a href="https://www.yesbank.in/media/press-releases/yes-bank-announces-resignation-of-chairman-shri-ashok-chawla-from-board-of-directors">confirmed </a>the news of Chawla’s resignation, explaining that it needed a chairman that could devote more attention to the bank as it navigated the management transition period. The move is a significant blow for Yes Bank, which was counting on Chawla to <a href="https://www.livemint.com/Industry/ibwVz9TXbViawOxiyv6nhJ/Yes-Bank-chairman-Ashok-Chawla-looks-to-restore-investor-con.html">steady the ship</a> ahead of Kapoor’s departure. In September, RBI had refused to extend Kapoor’s tenure owing to lapses in governance at Yes Bank which led to under-reporting of non-performing loans under the RBI’s regulatory requirements that mandate all banks recognise and make provisions for bad loans in their balance sheets. Separately, Chawla, who is also the chairman of the National Stock Exchange of India (NSE) and a former joint secretary in the Ministry of Finance, is currently a person of interest in a <keyword id="46183" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Corruption">corruption</keyword> investigation. In July 2018, he was <a href="https://www.livemint.com/Companies/ADf3iTFpj1u3EAKd1pKvFM/Aircel-Maxis-case-Yes-Bank-wants-RBI-to-decide-on-Ashok-Cha.html">named </a>in a chargesheet filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation in relation to the Aircel-Maxis case. That case is centred on the 2006 acquisition of a 74% stake in Indian mobile network operator Aircel, which was owned by C Sivasankaran, by Malaysian telecom firm Maxis, which is owned by T Ananda Krishnan. In 2011, Sivasankaran said he was forced into selling the stake in Aircel by India’s telecom minister, Dayanidhi Maran. It was subsequently found that a firm owned by Maran’s brother received a hefty payment from Maxis for facilitating the deal. Former Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram and his son Karti <a href="https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/chidambaram-charged-in-aircel-maxis-case-is-accused-no-1-1375213-2018-10-25">have also been charged</a> with money laundering in the case. The RBI has sought to take a sterner approach towards corporate governance in recent times. In October, the CEO of ICICI Bank, Chanda Kochhar, was forced <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/its-the-end-of-the-road-for-chanda-kochhar/articleshow/66082441.cms">to step down </a>amid a conflict-of-interest scandal. Yes Bank now has to scramble to find a new CEO and chairman. At the end of October, it had shortlisted <a href="https://www.livemint.com/Companies/oglYV7TdL2hm16ukNOsRlI/Yes-Bank-ready-with-first-list-of-names-in-Rana-successor-hu.html">more than 12 candidates</a> to succeed Kapoor, who term as CEO ends on 31 January next year. A final list is expected by the end of November. Meanwhile, owing to Chawla’s alleged involvement in the Aircel-Maxis case, the Securities and Exchange Board of India is reportedly in the process of deciding on whether or not he should continue as <a href="https://www.livemint.com/Companies/7BGhuMZHIvP8oyL4CZWjqI/Aircel-Maxis-case-NSEs-Ashok-Chawla-now-under-Sebi-probe.html">the chairman of the NSE</a>. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/one-of-indias-largest-private-banks-has-lost-more-than-half-its-market-value-in-37-days/articleshow/65991141.cms">One of India’s largest private banks has lost more than half its market value in 37 days</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/its-the-end-of-the-road-for-chanda-kochhar/articleshow/66082441.cms">It's the end of the road for Chanda Kochhar</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/here-are-the-main-findings-from-punjab-national-banks-internal-investigation-into-the-2-billion-nirav-modi-scam/articleshow/64681851.cms">Here are the main findings from Punjab National Bank’s internal investigation into the $2 billion Nirav Modi scam</a>

Yes Bank’s problems get further compounded as its chairman is forced to resign amid a corruption probe

<ul><li>Last week, Interpol’s bureau in Manchester asked the CBI to issue an <keyword id="82903" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="extradition">extradition</keyword> request and provisional arrest warrant for Modi, who is currently living in the UK. </li><li>The extradition request paves the way for Modi’s immediate arrest and presentation before a court. </li><li>Meanwhile, Modi’s fellow conspirator in the case, <keyword id="2763" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Mehul-Choksi">Mehul Choksi</keyword> has taken up citizenship of Antigua. An application for his international arrest warrant is still pending with Interpol. </li></ul>Ever since the $2 billion <keyword id="38935" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Fraud">fraud</keyword> case at <keyword id="62034" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Punjab-National-Bank">Punjab National Bank</keyword> came to light in February 2018, the protagonist behind the scam, <keyword id="571991" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Nirav-Modi">Nirav Modi</keyword>, has remained a free man. Following a request to Interpol from the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to issue a red corner notice, or an international arrest warrant, against him, the absconding billionaire was reported to be seen in Brussels in June. Like fellow wilful defaulter Vijay Mallya, Modi was subsequently confirmed to be living in the UK, where he has reportedly applied for political asylum. And now, it looks like he could soon be arrested, even as early as this week, according to a report by the Indian Express. Last week, Interpol’s bureau in Manchester asked the CBI to issue an extradition request and provisional warrant for Modi’s arrest. A spokesperson for the CBI, Abhishek Dayal, confirmed to news outlets that the extradition request was sent yesterday to authorities in the UK via the Ministry of External Affairs. The extradition request paves the way for Modi to be immediately arrested in the UK and eventually stand before a court. Earlier this month, India’s Enforcement Directorate, a federal agency tasked with fighting economic crimes, also sent an arrest warrant and extradition request to UK authorities in relation to the Nirav Modi scam. Modi is not the only person of interest in the case. The CBI has also filed chargesheets against his fellow conspirator, Mehul Choksi - whose also his uncle, as well as his wife, Ami Modi and son, Nishal. All left India in January, shortly before the scam was revealed. Despite the revocation of his passport, Modi was believed to be travelling on a passport issued by Singapore. Meanwhile, Choksi is said to have taken up citizenship of Antigua, an island in the Caribbean. A request for his extradition was handed over to officials in Antigua and Barbuda at the beginning of August. However, given the absence of a extradition treaty between India and Antigua, the only way for Indian authorities to extradite Choksi is to get Interpol to issue a red corner notice against him. The application for Choksi’s international arrest warrant is reported to be still pending with Interpol. Separately, on August 20th, a special CBI court granted bail to Usha Ananthasubramanian, who was the managing director and CEO of Punjab National Bank when the scam took place. Prior to the fraud case coming to light, Ananthasubramanian was the MD and CEO of Allahabad Bank, a role which she was eventually forced to relinquish. She was named in a chargesheet for failing to properly prevent the fraudulent letters of undertaking from being issued by the bank.

Billionaire fugitive Nirav Modi could be arrested in the UK as soon as this week

<ul><li>The Ministry of Home Affairs has empowered the <keyword id="107956" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Serious-Fraud-Investigation-Office">Serious Fraud Investigation Office</keyword> (SFIO) to request the issuance of look-out-circulars (<keyword id="6355098" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="LoC">LOC</keyword>) against people who are suspected of defaulting on large loans. </li><li>Last week, the same power was also granted to the CEOs of India’s public-sector banks, which have largely been the major casualties of these frauds and loan defaults. </li><li>Prior to these changes, the ability to request for LOCs was mainly extended to police authorities, the CBI, Enforcement Directorate, the home and external affairs ministries as well as regional passport offices and customs and tax officials. </li></ul>In the wake of a series of high profile banking scams and loan defaults this year, the most notable of which is <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/here-are-the-main-findings-from-punjab-national-banks-internal-investigation-into-the-2-billion-nirav-modi-scam/articleshow/64681851.cms">the Nirav Modi case</a>, the Indian government is trying to make it easier to prevent fraudsters from escaping the country and taking up residence elsewhere. To this effect, the Ministry of Home Affairs has empowered the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO), which is housed under the corporate affairs ministry, to request the issuance of <a href="https://indianexpress.com/article/india/centre-gives-sfio-powers-to-stop-defaulters-from-fleeing-the-country-5468015/">look-out-circulars </a>(LOC) against people who are suspected of defaulting on large loans. Last week, the same power was also granted to the<a href="https://www.livemint.com/Politics/lAjlD5SnzGYkS87SyKxVJI/Govt-authorises-public-sector-bank-CEOs-to-request-for-look.html"> CEOs of India’s public-sector banks</a>, which have largely been the major casualties of these frauds and loan defaults. However, as these public-sector banks aren’t official investigation agencies, the LOCs requested by them can be challenged in court. That is not the case with the SFIO. Prior to these changes, the ability to request for LOCs was mainly extended to police authorities, the CBI, Enforcement Directorate, the home and external affairs ministries as well as regional passport offices and customs and tax officials. A major reason why wilful defaulters like <keyword id="14678" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Vijay-Mallya">Vijay Mallya</keyword>, <keyword id="571991" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Nirav-Modi">Nirav Modi</keyword> and Mehul Choksi were able to flee India for safer havens was because the agencies or entities that caught wind of their crimes did not have the authority to prevent them from fleeing and had to follow protocols and notify higher powers with said authority. By the time formal channels of communication were activated, it was too late. This is reportedly what happened in the case of Vijay Mallya, who fled India in March 2016. The CBI actually <a href="https://www.hindustantimes.com/india/cbi-ignored-immigration-alert-on-mallya-leaving-india-on-march-2/story-hW83mkAc6qVe14VyFVOIFJ.html">watered-down the LOC</a> it had filed against the liquor baron in October 2015 from “detain” to “inform” after citing a lack of evidence and Mallya’s supposed intention to cooperate, which eventually allowed him to leave the country. The CBI had actually taken over the case from the SFIO, which had been looking into the diversion of funds at Mallya’s companies in September 2015. By broadening the number of stakeholders that can ask for the arrest of a <keyword id="2168141" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Wilful-defaulter">wilful defaulter</keyword>, the move could decrease the chances of this happening again in the future, especially in instances where investigations by the police and CBI are hamstrung by “conflicts of interest” or they don’t follow through with arrests. A few months ago, the central government also passed the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india-takes-its-first-big-step-towards-avoiding-future-nirav-modi-vijay-mallya-like-scams/articleshow/65069668.cms">Fugitive Economic Offenders Act</a>. The law allows the Enforcement Directorate to seize the domestic as well as foreign assets of “economic offenders” who have left the country so their creditors may recover their dues. The crimes involve amounts of ₹1 billion or more. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india-takes-its-first-big-step-towards-avoiding-future-nirav-modi-vijay-mallya-like-scams/articleshow/65069668.cms">India takes its first big step towards avoiding future Nirav Modi, Vijay Mallya-like scams</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/here-are-the-main-findings-from-punjab-national-banks-internal-investigation-into-the-2-billion-nirav-modi-scam/articleshow/64681851.cms">Here are the main findings from Punjab National Bank’s internal investigation into the $2 billion Nirav Modi scam</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/liquor-baron-vijay-mallya-will-be-the-first-to-be-tried-under-indias-new-fugitive-economic-offenders-ordinance/articleshow/64635569.cms">Liquor baron Vijay Mallya will be the first to be tried under India’s new Fugitive Economic Offenders Ordinance</a>

India’s corporate fraud investigation agency and the CEOs of state-owned banks can now directly prevent scamsters from leaving the country

After closing six overseas branches since 2016, the <keyword id="6354731" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="state-bank-of-india">State Bank of India</keyword> (<keyword id="13222" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="SBI">SBI</keyword>), India’s largest bank by assets, is set to shut an additional nine foreign branches. The move is part of the what the bank’s managing director, Pravin Gupta, terms “the rationalisation of overseas operations” - a euphemism for saving money. The need for <keyword id="44572" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="cost-cutting">cost cutting</keyword> is obvious. India’s bad loan problem is getting worse, and public-sector banks are bearing the brunt of it. In addition, the rupee is hovering around an all-time low and foreign portfolio investors are losing confidence in India. However, instead of exiting countries completely, SBI will mostly cull branches in countries where it operates more than one branch, like South Africa or Bangladesh. It will merge the operations of the defunct branch with the remaining branches to ensure continuity. A sector-wide move The plan has been in the works for a while. In November 2017, shortly after announcing a $32 billion recapitalisation plan for the sector, the government instructed all of India’s state-owned banks to assess the feasibility of their international operations. India’s state-owned banks collectively have 216 branches and offices in operation overseas, a bulk of which belong to State Bank of India. Some of these outlets act as full-fledged branches while some act as representative offices, which have lesser regulations to comply with. The branch-cutting exercise has gained momentum in the wake of the Nirav Modi scam. Modi and his associates used fraudulent credit guarantees from Punjab National Bank to obtain loans from the overseas branches of state-owned banks like State Bank of India, Allahabad Bank and Canara Bank. In March 2018, Rajiv Kumar, the Secretary of the Department of Financial Services, said that 35 overseas branches of state-owned banks were in the process of being closed, while the feasibility of an additional 69 were being assessed. 
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 The branches in question, are mostly unprofitable or in markets where business is difficult to come by. In doing so, the government hopes that this will free up capital for state-owned banks to do two things- to extend loans to business clients and provision for any further <keyword id="142154" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="bad-loans">bad loans</keyword>.

India's largest bank is shutting down some international branches to save money

<ul><li>The <keyword id="6355187" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="lok-sabha">Lok Sabha</keyword> lost 127 hours and 45 minutes due to disruptions while the Rajya Sabha wasted 121 hours. </li><li>In the time spent sitting by the Lok Sabha, a grand total of five bills were passed as against a planned target of 40. Two of these, the Finance Bill and the Appropriation Bill, were passed in less than half an hour. </li><li>Around ₹3.7 billion rupees of taxpayers money was lost as a result of the disruptions to the Budget Session. </li></ul>The 2018 Budget session, which concluded on April 6th, saw India’s <keyword id="6354721" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="parliament">Parliament</keyword> record another unflattering statistic. According to PRS Legislative Research, Delhi-based think tank, it was the <a href="http://www.prsindia.org/uploads/media/Budget%202018/Vital%20Stats%20-%20Budget%20Session%202018.pdf">least productive Budget Session</a> since 2000. Based <a href="http://164.100.47.193/statement/files/statementofwork.pdf">on information</a> from the Lok Sabha secretariat, 127 hours and 45 minutes were wasted in the Lower House of Parliament while business was conducted for only 34 hours. The Rajya Sabha (Upper House) fared slightly better, sitting for 44 hours and wasting 121. All in all, 249 out of a total of 327 hours were completely wasted, culminating in a productivity level of 24%. If you can call it productivity. In human terms, if an MP in the recent session was given four hours to do something, he or she spent three hours arguing about this responsibility, 45 minutes sitting down to think about it and 15 minutes actually doing it. In the time spent sitting by the Lok Sabha, a grand total of five bills were passed as against a planned target of 40. Two of these - the Finance Bill, which comprises taxation measures, and the Appropriation Bill, which details spending plans for government ministries - were passed in quick succession on March 14th. The Speaker of the Lok Sabha, Sumitra Mahajan, was able to pass the bills in less than half an hour without any discussion by administering the “guillotine process”. When a guillotine is applied, all outstanding proposals need to be voted on once a fixed time for discussion is over. The hours wasted by Parliament aren’t borne by MPs but by taxpayers. In September 2012, following a washed-out Monsoon session, the Union Minister for Parliamentary Affairs, Pawan Kumar Bansal, said that the cost to the Exchequer of running the Parliament for <a href="https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/each-minute-of-running-parliament-in-sessions-costs-rs-2-5-lakh-govt-498784">one minute was ₹250,000</a>, a figure which has since been routinely quoted. Based on this estimate, around ₹3.7 billion rupees of taxpayers money was lost as a result of the disruptions to the Budget Session, excluding the salaries of MPs. But one can’t just look at this in monetary terms. There is a significant cost to bills being delayed, not only for the intended beneficiaries of such bills, but in terms of the time they take up in future sessions of Parliament which would normally be reserved for newer bills. At the end of the Budget Session, there were <a href="http://www.prsindia.org/uploads/media/Budget%202018/Session%20wrap%20Budget%20Session%202018.pdf">68 bills pending</a> for discussion and passage, including the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Bill, the Financial Resolution and Deposit Insurance Bill and the Whistleblowers Protection Bill. India’s electorate aren’t unfamiliar with washouts in Parliament. A number of sessions in recent years have been been largely unproductive and beset by interruptions. For example, the Winter Session in 2016, which took place right after the demonetisation, lost 19 of its 21 days due to disruptions. In the absence of institutional incentives to be productive, India’s MPs have no qualms in substituting debate with protests. These disruptions, rather than individual actions, are usually a coordinated ploy by opposition parties too highlight the government’s failings and are met with a equal reaction by ruling parties who wish to stall discussion over a topic. The blame game This Budget Session was no different and both sides were to blame. First, the <keyword id="1575" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Congress">Congress</keyword> and <keyword id="14666" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="BJP">BJP</keyword> pointed fingers at each other over the Nirav Modi scam at Punjab National Bank. Then, the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), along with opposition parties, started protesting against the Centre’s decision to not give the state special category status. This led to a notice of a no-confidence motion, which was never brought to the floor, which only served to amplify the Opposition’s protests. Even though the BJP had the seats to quash the no-confidence motion, it probably did not want to risk the scrutiny and questions that came with such a motion. Finally, the latter end of the session featured disruptions related to the Cauvery water sharing dispute between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu as well as the Supreme Court’s dilution of the SC/STs Act. The blame game and hollow gestures continued well after the end of the Budget Session. On April 5th, the members of the ruling administration said that they would <a href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/nda-mps-wont-take-pay-for-23-wasted-days/articleshow/63618705.cms">forgo their salaries </a>for the 23 wasted days in the second part of the Budget Session, which they attributed to the Congress. On April 9th, Rahul Gandhi led <a href="https://www.financialexpress.com/india-news/rahul-gandhis-fast-at-rajghat-sajjan-singh-jagdish-tytler-asked-to-leave-top-developments/1126556/">a nationwide, day-long fast </a>to protest against the BJP government and the Parliament’s inability to function. The BJP responded with <a href="http://indianexpress.com/article/india/pm-narendra-modi-fast-on-april-12-why-is-pm-fasting-bjp-protests-rahul-gandhi-congress-amit-shah-parliament-5133495/">its own fast</a> against the stalling of Parliamentary proceedings by opposition parties few days later. <keyword id="834154" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="No-work-no-pay">No work no pay</keyword>? The decision of the BJP MPs to forgo their salaries has brought the notion of “no work no pay” back into the spotlight. As part of the latest Union Budget, the finance minister, Arun Jaitley, decided to double MPs monthly salaries from ₹50,000 to ₹100,000. In 2007, when the BJP led the Opposition, the Speaker of the Lok Sabha, Somnath Chatterjee, <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/somnath-wants-no-work-no-pay/articleshow/2225592.cms">proposed the concept</a> of “no work no pay for MPs”, pointing to the obvious flaw in a system that allowed them to claim their daily allowance for sitting in Parliament even when the session was disrupted. Last month, Manoj Tiwari, a BJP MP and head of its Delhi unit, <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/manoj-tiwari-wants-no-work-no-pay-rule-for-mps/articleshow/63385053.cms">proposed the rule again</a>. While the rule makes sense on paper, it presupposes that MPs are motivated to work by their salaries. Many of them are rich to begin with. According to the Association of Democratic Reforms, <a href="https://adrindia.org/media/adr-in-news/13rd-mps-have-criminal-records-82-cent-are-crorepatis-adr">82% of the new Lok Sabha MPs </a>in 2014 had a net worth of over ₹10 million. In fact, the average worth of an MPs assets was ₹146 million. Perhaps the number of days could be increased. While this won’t raise productivity and will likely increase the burden of taxpayers, it could help tackle the growing pile of pending bills and allow more time for matters of public interest to be discussed. The Indian Parliament meets for roughly <a href="http://www.prsindia.org/media/articles-by-prs-team/the-house-is-not-in-session-4425/">70 days a year</a>, compared to 150 in the UK and 140 in the US. Furthermore, MPs are primarily motivated by votes. They are elected to represent the interests of the people who voted for them, not to add numbers to their parties’ protests in the house. It is the responsibility of voters to keep their representatives accountable. Parliamentary disruptions inhibit the functioning of our democracy. The disruptors should be rewarded accordingly when elections come around.

You Searched For "Nirav Modi scam" and got 12 results

India’s largest bank was caught lying about its profits for 3 years but no one got punished, according to an expose

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India has seized over ₹548 million worth of paintings from Nirav Modi’s art collection including prized work by VS Gaitonde

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Nirav Modi Scam: How to game an age-old banking system for $1.6 billion

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Here are the main findings from Punjab National Bank’s internal investigation into the $2 billion Nirav Modi scam

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World’s largest diamond industry faces unemployment issue post import duty hike in India

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Here’s how the 13-month chase for Nirav Modi came to an end

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Yes Bank’s problems get further compounded as its chairman is forced to resign amid a corruption probe

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Billionaire fugitive Nirav Modi could be arrested in the UK as soon as this week

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India’s corporate fraud investigation agency and the CEOs of state-owned banks can now directly prevent scamsters from leaving the country

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India's largest bank is shutting down some international branches to save money

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The recently-concluded Budget session of the Indian Parliament was the least productive in 18 years

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