PNB's Rs 11,400-crore fraud: 10 unanswered questions

Ever since Punjab National Bank (PNB) detected the Rs 11,400-crore Nirav Modi fraud case, which is believed to be the biggest banking scam in the history of independent India, all memories of mega scams unearthed during the UPA regime were refreshed on Thursday. Though the central government has begun its crackdown on Nirav Modi and other persons involved in the fraud involving India's second largest public sector bank, there are some questions that remain unanswered.

1. How big is this fraud, really? How many other banks have experienced this kind of fraud? We will not know until 30 other banks investigate.
2. Why are PNB's core banking system and SWIFT system not integrated? Most banks have integrated them.
3.  This isn't the first fraud against LOUs and buyers' credit. Why has government failed to stop the malpractices against this?
4.  Timing is crucial. January 23, the day Nirav Modi appeared for photo-op with PM Narendra Modi in Davos, didn't the PNB, the RBI and investigating agencies know about this fraud? After all, the PNB approached the CBI with fraud investigation just give days later on January 29?
5.  How many LOUs had been issued to Nirav Modi since 2010? How did it get undetected for seven years? What did Nirav Modi do with the money?
6.  What is Mehul Choksi's role in this? Was Nirav Modi round-tripping the money? Paying one buyers' credit from money raised against another?
7.  How did Gokulnath Shetty stay in the same job for seven years against the PSU banks' rule of transferring desk and branch every three years?
8.  Every such transaction requires three levels of checks: maker, checker, and verifier. Who is the third person involved? Who are other supervisors involved?
9.  Where is Nirav Modi?
10.  Where are Gokulnath Shetty and Manoj Kharat? Who else is involved?