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Bloomberg
India’s beleaguered state-run lender Punjab National Bank (PNB) disclosed another incident of fraud amounting to $555 million, roughly one year after it suffered through the country’s costliest banking scandal.
The new case relates to the non-performing assets of insolvent Indian firm Bhushan Power & Steel Ltd, PNB said in a filing.
It reported the fraud to the Reserve Bank of India and made provisions worth 19.3 billion rupees.
PNB said Bhushan misappropriated bank funds and manipulated account books to raise money from consortium lender banks.
A vast majority of the fraud took place at PNB’s Chandigarh branch, and also involved its office in Hong Kong.
The bank said it expects a ‘good recovery’ from the insolvency case, which is currently before the National Company Law Tribunal.
The announcement is a fresh blow to PNB, which uncovered India’s biggest-ever bank fraud last year.
That nearly $2 billion scandal was allegedly perpetrated by jeweller-to-the-stars Nirav Modi, who was arrested by UK police at the request of Indian authorities and is embroiled in an extradition process. Modi denies wrongdoing.