The CBI is questioning Vipul Ambani, the Chief Financial Officer of diamantaire Nirav Modi’s Fire Star Diamond Company, officials said here today. They said Vipul Ambani has held the position for the last three to four years. He is understood to be a relative of late Dhirubhai Ambani.

The CBI yesterday started an intensive search operation at the Brady Road branch of PNB in Mumbai, which is at the centre of a colossal banking fraud involving billionaire jewellers Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi. The agency continued interrogating two PNB officials and an authorised signatory of Nirav Modi’s company, officials said.

The probe agency has also started interrogating five more officials, including general manager level officers, taking the total number of officials facing questioning to 11, they said. CBI officials said the agency is continuing the questioning of arrested bank officials -- Gokulnath Shetty (retired) and Manoj Kharat, and the signatory of Nirav Modi’s company -- besides that of other officials of PNB, to find out the money trail and depth of the alleged scam, involving thousands of documents and digital records.

The CBI is also examining financial transactions of 18 India-based subsidiaries of the Gitanjali group of companies promoted by Choksi, to understand the money trail of funds taken from various banks on the basis of Rs 11,384-crore of guarantees furnished by Punjab National Bank, officials said here.

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