MUMBAI/NEW DELHI: India’s biggest law firm, Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas (CAM), is being scrutinised by means of government brokers once they seized documents associated with the $2 billion fraud at state-run Punjab National Bank (PNB) from CAM’s premises in February, a legal professional representing the federal government and a police supply instructed Reuters.
In what has been dubbed as India’s biggest bank fraud, PNB in January alleged that billionaire diamond jeweller Nirav Modi and his uncle had for years fraudulently raised billions of bucks in international credit score by means of conspiring with body of workers at the bank.
In mid-February, Modi’s aides packed cartons of documents at certainly one of his diamond firm’s places of work in Mumbai and despatched them to CAM’s workplace within reach, from the place police seized them within a week on February 21, a overview of the Central Bureau of Investigation’s (CBI) courtroom filings and witness testimonies showed.
K Raghavacharyulu, a prosecution legal professional within the Modi case, and two CBI sources who declined to be named, said CAM possessed documents detailing Modi’s dealings with PNB, even though the firm wasn’t representing the diamond multi-millionaire or his companies.
“CAM was now not their attorney within the PNB fraud case, 100 % positive ... that’s why they could now not cite attorney-client privilege,” Raghavacharyulu said, adding that his evaluation was according to regular briefings he received from CBI investigating officers.
CAM declined to comment on its relationship with Modi, who's at the run out of the country. Its spokeswoman, Madhumita Paul, said the firm “strictly follows the criminal absolute best practices and does now not comment on matters that are sub-judice or are underneath investigation”.
In CBI’s first price sheet in May within the fraud case against Modi and others, the company said that “incriminating documents/articles related to the case” have been hid within the workplace of CAM. No charges have been brought a crime firm and it was now not named as a witness within the case.
Since then, Raghavacharyulu said, police have now not interviewed any CAM reliable within the case, regardless that one CBI supply said that before submitting the first price sheet, police summoned, wondered and recorded the commentary of no less than one junior CAM legal professional.
That commentary has still now not been produced in courtroom for the reason that company is deliberating whether or not to price the law firm for concealment of evidence or identify it as a prosecution witness to testify against Modi, the supply said.
Raghavacharyulu said it is imaginable the police may deliver charges against CAM for serving to hide documents. “Who instructed you we aren't going to price them?” he said. “The possibility of naming CAM within the next Nirav Modi case price sheet has now not been dominated out.”
CAM declined to comment on the possibility of being charged or being named as a witness, and said the Reuters findings have been “stuffed with false and speculative statements”. It didn't elaborate.
The firm didn’t comment on why it possessed the documents seized by means of the CBI.
CBI’s spokesman, Abhishek Dayal, declined to remark for this text, pronouncing the PNB fraud case was underneath investigation and it will now not be appropriate to mention anything else at this stage.
The CBI first learnt of CAM’s ownership of the documents when it wondered Modi’s workplace body of workers, the police supply said. The documents have been moved in a mini-truck in 50-60 cartons to the law firm, in keeping with two witness testimonies noticed by means of Reuters.
On the afternoon of Feb. 20, CBI officers went to CAM’s workplace with a criminal search authorization and the documents have been present in a meeting room, in keeping with a in the past unreported 10-page CBI “search record” noticed by means of Reuters.
The CBI search – which involved eight federal police officers – incorporated locking and sealing the meeting room in a single day as the search dragged on over two days. On the night of Feb. 21, CBI officers left with 24,625 pages of documents, which incorporated copies of monetary statements of Modi’s firms and details of interbank fund transfers, in keeping with the search record.
CAM has greater than 600 lawyers. It has suggested companies equivalent to Alphabet Inc’s Google, Microsoft, Standard Chartered and India’s ICICI Bank, in keeping with analysis firm The Legal 500. It also advises Thomson Reuters, which owns Reuters, the corporate’s news department.
In what has been dubbed as India’s biggest bank fraud, PNB in January alleged that billionaire diamond jeweller Nirav Modi and his uncle had for years fraudulently raised billions of bucks in international credit score by means of conspiring with body of workers at the bank.
In mid-February, Modi’s aides packed cartons of documents at certainly one of his diamond firm’s places of work in Mumbai and despatched them to CAM’s workplace within reach, from the place police seized them within a week on February 21, a overview of the Central Bureau of Investigation’s (CBI) courtroom filings and witness testimonies showed.
K Raghavacharyulu, a prosecution legal professional within the Modi case, and two CBI sources who declined to be named, said CAM possessed documents detailing Modi’s dealings with PNB, even though the firm wasn’t representing the diamond multi-millionaire or his companies.
“CAM was now not their attorney within the PNB fraud case, 100 % positive ... that’s why they could now not cite attorney-client privilege,” Raghavacharyulu said, adding that his evaluation was according to regular briefings he received from CBI investigating officers.
CAM declined to comment on its relationship with Modi, who's at the run out of the country. Its spokeswoman, Madhumita Paul, said the firm “strictly follows the criminal absolute best practices and does now not comment on matters that are sub-judice or are underneath investigation”.
In CBI’s first price sheet in May within the fraud case against Modi and others, the company said that “incriminating documents/articles related to the case” have been hid within the workplace of CAM. No charges have been brought a crime firm and it was now not named as a witness within the case.
Since then, Raghavacharyulu said, police have now not interviewed any CAM reliable within the case, regardless that one CBI supply said that before submitting the first price sheet, police summoned, wondered and recorded the commentary of no less than one junior CAM legal professional.
That commentary has still now not been produced in courtroom for the reason that company is deliberating whether or not to price the law firm for concealment of evidence or identify it as a prosecution witness to testify against Modi, the supply said.
Raghavacharyulu said it is imaginable the police may deliver charges against CAM for serving to hide documents. “Who instructed you we aren't going to price them?” he said. “The possibility of naming CAM within the next Nirav Modi case price sheet has now not been dominated out.”
CAM declined to comment on the possibility of being charged or being named as a witness, and said the Reuters findings have been “stuffed with false and speculative statements”. It didn't elaborate.
The firm didn’t comment on why it possessed the documents seized by means of the CBI.
CBI’s spokesman, Abhishek Dayal, declined to remark for this text, pronouncing the PNB fraud case was underneath investigation and it will now not be appropriate to mention anything else at this stage.
The CBI first learnt of CAM’s ownership of the documents when it wondered Modi’s workplace body of workers, the police supply said. The documents have been moved in a mini-truck in 50-60 cartons to the law firm, in keeping with two witness testimonies noticed by means of Reuters.
On the afternoon of Feb. 20, CBI officers went to CAM’s workplace with a criminal search authorization and the documents have been present in a meeting room, in keeping with a in the past unreported 10-page CBI “search record” noticed by means of Reuters.
The CBI search – which involved eight federal police officers – incorporated locking and sealing the meeting room in a single day as the search dragged on over two days. On the night of Feb. 21, CBI officers left with 24,625 pages of documents, which incorporated copies of monetary statements of Modi’s firms and details of interbank fund transfers, in keeping with the search record.
CAM has greater than 600 lawyers. It has suggested companies equivalent to Alphabet Inc’s Google, Microsoft, Standard Chartered and India’s ICICI Bank, in keeping with analysis firm The Legal 500. It also advises Thomson Reuters, which owns Reuters, the corporate’s news department.
PNB fraud: India's biggest law firm may be tried for concealing evidence
![PNB fraud: India's biggest law firm may be tried for concealing evidence]()
Reviewed by Kailash
on
September 19, 2018
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