The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has made two arrests in connection with a Rs 183.21 crore fake bank guarantee scam. The arrested individuals include a senior manager from Punjab National Bank (PNB) and another person from Kolkata. The arrests followed a multi-state operation and were initiated after the High Court of Madhya Pradesh directed the CBI to investigate allegations of forged bank guarantees submitted by an Indore-based company to Madhya Pradesh Jal Nigam Limited (MPJNL). The CBI registered three separate cases on May 9, 2025, in response to the court's directions.
The scam involves an Indore-based company that secured three major irrigation contracts worth Rs 974 crore in 2023 from MPJNL. To meet contractual requirements, the company submitted eight fake bank guarantees amounting to Rs 183.21 crore, purportedly issued by PNB. MPJNL initially received email confirmations that appeared to be from PNB's official domain, which later turned out to be fraudulent. Based on these forged confirmations, MPJNL awarded the high-value contracts to the company.
Following preliminary findings, the CBI launched an extensive search operation on June 19 and 20, 2025, across 23 locations in five states: Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Gujarat, Jharkhand, and New Delhi. This operation led to the arrest of the two individuals in Kolkata. The PNB manager is suspected of direct involvement in the scam. Both accused were produced before a local court in Kolkata and are being brought to Indore on transit remand for further questioning.
Preliminary investigations suggest the involvement of a Kolkata-based syndicate that systematically fabricated fake bank guarantees to fraudulently secure government contracts in various states. This syndicate used sophisticated methods, including fake email domains and digital forgeries, to bypass due diligence processes. The CBI's inquiry revealed that MPJNL received fraudulent email responses impersonating PNB officials, falsely confirming the authenticity of the bank guarantees. Relying on these confirmations, MPJNL awarded the contracts to the firm.
The CBI is continuing its probe to identify all those involved in the conspiracy. More arrests and seizures are expected as investigators trace financial records and digital evidence linked to similar frauds in other regions. The agency is also investigating the role of other individuals who may have facilitated the fraud. This case has emerged seven years after the Nirav Modi scandal, where fake letters of undertaking were used to obtain foreign loans without proper security, highlighting the persistent challenges in preventing financial fraud within the banking system.
