Govt set to remove Allahabad Bank chief

The Union government on Monday began the process to remove state-owned Allahabad Bank’s chief Usha Ananthsubramanian for her alleged role in the Rs 13,700-crore Punjab National Bank loan fraud involving jeweller designer Nirav Modi. Meanwhile, PNB sacked two of its executive directors hours after CBI filed a charge sheet in the scandal.

In its 7,500-page charge sheet, CBI named 22 individuals, including Modi and three companies as accused in the biggest banking fraud in India’s history.

Ananthsubramanian’s name also figures in the charge sheet. The charges against the accused are of cheating and dishonesty and, criminal breach of trust by public servants.

Modi’s wife Ami Modi and his uncle Mehul Choksi’s name are not in the CBI’s first ever charge sheet in the scam that shook the country in February this year.

Ananthasubramanian allegedly failed to comply with the Reserve Bank of India’s circulars issued by the Society for Worldwide Inter-bank Financial Telecommunications (SWIFT) control system in 2016.

“A government nominee on the broad of Allahabad Bank will call a meeting to seek removal of Ananthsubramanian,” Financial Services Secretary Rajeev Kumar told reporters here.

The investigating agency also filed charges against two serving executive directors of PNB -- K V Brahmaji Rao and Sanjiv Sharan.