Punjab National Bank (PNB) has reported a borrowal fraud amounting to ₹2,434 crore to the Reserve Bank of India, linked to the erstwhile promoters of SREI Equipment Finance Ltd (SEFL) and SREI Infrastructure Finance Ltd (SIFL). The disclosure was made in a regulatory filing after market hours on Friday, following the bank’s internal assessment of the accounts.
According to the filing, the fraud exposure related to SEFL stands at ₹1,240.94 crore, while the amount associated with SIFL is ₹1,193.06 crore. PNB said it has already made 100 per cent provisioning for both accounts, ensuring that there is no additional financial impact on its books from the reported fraud.
Both SREI entities had earlier undergone resolution under the Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process, which was approved by the National Company Law Tribunal. The cases were referred for insolvency proceedings in October 2021 after the banking regulator superseded the boards of the two companies amid governance concerns and persistent loan repayment defaults involving aggregate dues of nearly ₹28,000 crore.
PNB’s shares ended 0.6 per cent lower at ₹120.25 on the NSE on Friday. The bank said the reporting of the fraud is in line with regulatory requirements and standard disclosure norms.
