Indian investigators arrest three in bank fraud

NEW DELHI: Indian investigators have arrested three people who allegedly helped a billionaire jeweller obtain fake documents for overseas loans in one of the country´s biggest bank scams, an official said Saturday.

Investigators are looking into allegations that Nirav Modi and his business partner Mehul Choksi were involved in defrauding India´s second-largest state-run lender the Punjab National Bank (PNB) of 2.8 billion rupees ($43.8 million). The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) said it arrested Hemant Bhat, a business associate of Modi, and two PNB officials -- former deputy manager Gokulnath Shetty and Manoj Kharat -- in Mumbai late Friday. "All three arrests were made late last night. They will be produced in a special court sometime later today," a CBI spokesman told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity. The trio is suspected to have facilitated fraudulent lines of credit to companies linked to Modi and Choksi, the spokesman said. Modi is worth $1.73 billion according to Forbes, placing him 85th on India´s rich list.

The 47-year-old is the founder of Firestar Diamond and jeweller to top Hollywood stars including Kate Winslet and Naomi Watts.