CBI look out circular against ex-CFO of Nirav Modi's company dropped

The CBI, however, strongly opposed the plea, saying Gupta was handling the finance of Nirav Modi's company which had siphoned off Rs 6,498.20 crore from the state-run Punjab National Bank (PNB) using 150 fraudulent Letters of Undertaking. It said if the LOC is dropped, Gupta may flee the country like other accused and may not be available for further investigation.

The special court noted that Gupta was neither an accused nor a witness in the case, and had attended the office of the investigation officer over 30 times in connection with the matter.

"If the LOC issued against the applicant is not cancelled or recalled, it would hamper his career," the court noted as it quashed the circular. The court, however, directed Gupta not to leave the country without its permission.

Nirav Modi and his uncle Mehul Choksi are accused of duping PNB, a public sector bank, of Rs 13,000 crore using Letters of Undertaking (LoUs) and foreign letters of credit (FLCs) by bribing its officials at the Brady House branch in Mumbai.

While Modi is contesting his extradition from the United Kingdom where the British authorities arrested him, his uncle Choksi is safely cocooned in Antigua and Barbuda where he had taken citizenship.