PNB Scam: Is Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas really under CBI scanner?

After seizing documents from the Mumbai office of Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas in February this year, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is scrutinizing the firm in relation to the $2 billion PNB Scam involving Nirav Modi, according to Reuters..More than six months after the raid, the CBI is now considering whether to charge the Firm for concealment of evidence or name it as a prosecution witness to testify against Nirav Modi..Bar & Bench had reported on the CBI raid of CAM’s Mumbai office in February. It was also discovered that the firm was indeed involved in one banking assignment (relating to payment settlement) for Nirav Modi that it took up a few weeks before the scam was uncovered. The same was immediately terminated as soon as news of the PNB Scam came to light. It was in this official capacity the firm had received documents from Nirav Modi’s office..We have also learnt from reliable sources that the firm has fully cooperated with the CBI team and the Firm has not been called for any questioning since the documents were taken in February..Our sources also revealed that the letter mandating this assignment is also in CBI custody, along with documents that were taken from the CAM office..According to K Raghavacharyulu, a prosecution lawyer in the Nirav Modi case, and two CBI sources who spoke to Reuters, CAM possessed documents detailing Modi’s dealings with PNB, even though the firm wasn’t representing the diamond magnate or his companies..“CAM was not their attorney in the PNB fraud case, 100 percent sure…that’s why they could not cite attorney-client privilege“ Raghavacharyulu said, based on regular briefings he received from CBI investigating officers..Reuters further reports that in the CBI’s first charge sheet in the fraud case against Modi and others, the agency said that “incriminating documents/articles relevant to the case” were concealed in the office of CAM. No charges were brought against the law firm and it was not named as a witness in the case..Since then, Raghavacharyulu said, police have not interviewed any CAM official in the case. Although one CBI source said that before filing the first charge sheet, police summoned, questioned and recorded the statement of at least one junior CAM lawyer..That statement has still not been produced in court because the agency is deliberating whether to charge the law firm for concealment of evidence or name it as a prosecution witness to testify against Modi, the source said..Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas had declined to comment at the time of publishing this story.