Punjab National Bank shares fall by 10 percent after BPSL fraud case

MUMBAI: Two days after the Punjab National Bank (PNB) said that it had been defrauded by Bhushan Power & Steel Ltd. (BPSL) to the tune of Rs 3,805.15 crore, its scrip fell by over 10 percent on Monday.

At 10.43 a.m., PNB shares were trading at 73.95 apiece, down 9.54 percent before hitting an intra-day low of 73.15 a share. The state-run bank on Saturday informed the exchanges that it has been defrauded by BPSL to the tune of Rs 3,805.15 crore.

"On the basis of Forensic Audit Investigation findings and CBI filing FIR, on suo moto basis, against the Company and its Directors, alleging diversion of funds from the banking system, a fraud of Rs 3805.15 core is being reported by Bank to RBI," PNB said in a regulatory filing.

Adding that in the accounts of the company (BPSL), the bank had already made provisions amounting to Rs 1,932.47 crore, as per prescribed prudential norms. PNB added that BPSL has misappropriated bank funds, manipulated books of accounts to raise funds from consortium lender banks.

On the present status, the bank informed that the case is at NCLT which is in advance stage. This case comes nearly a year after the bank was hit by one of the biggest fraud in the banking history when the diamantaire Nirav Modi defrauded the bank which cost India's second largest state-run bank a massive Rs 14,000 crore.