Government, banks sit on pleas to indict corrupt officials: Central Vigilance Commission

The Centre and PSUs, including banks are economical in granting sanction to prosecute senior officials accused of corruption as per CVC data.

ED officials at the PNB branch in Mumbai’s Thane late on Tuesday. | PTI

NEW DELHI: The Centre and PSUs, including banks are economical in granting sanction to prosecute senior officials accused of corruption as per Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) data. This revelation comes at a time when Punjab National Bank (PNB) is under the scanner of central agencies after a loan fraud worth Rs 11,400 crore was allegedly committed by fugitive jeweller Nirav Modi in connivance with bank officials.

The PNB, SBI and UCO Bank are sitting over multiple requests from the anti-corruption watchdog CVC for prosecution sanctions against nine senior officers allegedly involved in corruption.

According to the norms, sanction for prosecution has to be decided by the concerned government agency within four months after a request from the CVC, but the PMO and other agencies are sitting on them, in some cases from 2014 onwards.

As many as 23 cases, involving 39 officials, including IAS officers and senior executives of banks, were pending sanction for prosecution from various authorities as on December 31 last year.
Four out of 23 cases are related to banks -- two of SBI and one each of UCO Bank and PNB. The CVC is awaiting sanction since June 2017 to prosecute eight accused officials of SBI and UCO Bank. In the case relating to PNB, the CVC is awaiting sanction since August last year.

Of the nine accused people from PSU banks, five officers are from SBI, including a General Manager-rank official and three with UCO Bank including a GM. Sanction to prosecute these eight accused officials has been pending since June 2017. In case of PNB, the accused official is of the rank of Chief Manager and sanction has been pending since August 30, 2017.

Of the 30 other officials against whom prosecution sanction is pending include IAS officers and CMDs of FCI and MMTC and a Chief Secretary.

Of the 23 cases awaiting sanction for prosecution from the Centre, four cases are pending with Ministry of Personnel, three with the UP government, two with Railways Ministry and one each with Defence and Commerce ministries.

SC to hear plea for SIT probe in PNB scam today

The Supreme Court will on Wednesday hear a PIL seeking an SIT probe into the PNB scam involving Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi. Lawyer J P Dhanda’s plea also asks for a probe into PNB’s top management and sought a direction to the finance ministry to frame guidelines on grant of loans involving big amounts. A bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra on Tuesday considered Dhanda’s submission that the scam was of enormous magnitude and the plea be listed for urgent hearing.