Viral Message: I had warned @OfficeOfRG & @PChidambaram_IN about frauds of Nirav Modi. But they forced me to remain silent and kept approving loans till May 2014. Why am I being blamed for the PNB scam now?: Raghuram Rajan

eMessage on – Social media and internet

Fact Check by Ayupp– Fake (Rajan might be aware of any upcoming scam but he never had given any warning in the public domain.)

Viral message example-   

Is it True #RaghuramRajan had really warned @OfficeOfRG @PChidambaram_IN ldrs Abt Magnitude of #NiravModiFraud then why Shamelessly @INCIndia Raising False Cries blaming @narendramodi @BJP4India 4 Misdeeds of Plunder. Appl @HMOIndia pl @NIA_India Investigate Jailing BigFishes

Is it True #RaghuramRajan had really warned @OfficeOfRG @PChidambaram_IN ldrs Abt Magnitude of #NiravModiFraud then why Shamelessly @INCIndia Raising False Cries blaming @narendramodi @BJP4India 4 Misdeeds of Plunder. Appl @HMOIndia pl @NIA_India Investigate Jailing BigFishes pic.twitter.com/toe9GucLLH

— Col Som Sharma (@Voice_4_India) March 10, 2018

I had warned @OfficeOfRG & @PChidambaram_IN about frauds of Nirav Modi. But they forced me to remain silent and kept approving loans till May 2014. Why am I being blamed for the PNB scam now?: Raghuram Rajan, Ex-Governor, @RBI cc @Swamy39 @narendramodi @arunjaitley

I had warned @OfficeOfRG & @PChidambaram_IN about frauds of Nirav Modi. But they forced me to remain silent and kept approving loans till May 2014. Why am I being blamed for the PNB scam now?: Raghuram Rajan, Ex-Governor, @RBI cc @Swamy39 @narendramodi @arunjaitley

— Chitrakar (@sanvru) March 10, 2018

Viral Message Verification:- A message doing the rounds on the social media regarding the warning of Raghuram Rajan, Ex-Governor that he warned the congress party about the possible PNB scam, is not true. We did not find any information or any feed on any of the social media o the warning by the Ex-Governor.

However there is another social viral message that the, bullion body had warned Raghuram Rajan about 80:20 gold, Check before it’s too late.

Read: What is the 80:20 gold scheme? Did Chidambaram help Nirav Modi, Mehul Choksi

The moneycontrol in it’s article published stated that “The jewellery industry had warned of an impending scandal in India’s bullion industry caused by former Finance Minister P Chidambaram’s controversial decision to allow 13 traders to import gold four years before the diamond merchant Nirav Modi and his uncle Mehul Choksi fled the country defrauding banks worth an estimated Rs 12,000 crore.

In a letter to the then Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor Raghuram Rajan on July 26, 2014, the India Bullion and Jewellers Association (IBJA) had accused the previous UPA government of “deliberately yielding to the cronies” by changing the gold policy days before demitting office.

The association also asked Rajan to “make a prudent appraisal” of the decision and “check the loopholes before it was too late”

So it might be Rajan might be aware of any upcoming scam but he never had given any warning in the public domain.

The UPA government’s allowed 13 few select firms to import gold and sell these in local markets charging a decent premium and resulting in a spurt in final prices has snowballed into a major controversy in the wake of the Nirav Modi-PNB scam.

May 21, 2014

To

All Scheduled Commercial Banks which are Authorized Dealers (ADs) in
Foreign Exchange/ All Agencies nominated for import of gold

Madam/ Sir,

Import of Gold by Nominated Banks / Agencies / Entities

Attention of Authorised Persons is drawn to the Reserve Bank's A.P. (DIR Series) Circular No. 25 dated August 14, 2013; and the subsequent circulars, on the captioned subject.

2. The Government of India and Reserve Bank of India has been receiving representations from the jewelers, bullion dealers, AD banks, and trade bodies to rationalise the guidelines for import of gold. Taking into account such representations and in consultation with the Government of India, it has been decided to modify the guidelines for import of Gold by the nominated banks / agencies / entities. These revised guidelines which will come into force with immediate effect are as under:
3. Star Trading Houses / Premier Trading Houses (STH/PTH) which are registered as nominated agencies by the Director General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) may now import gold under 20:80 scheme subject to the following conditions:
4. The STH/PTH should have imported gold prior to the introduction of 20:80 scheme. STH / PTH should get the required verification done by the Department of Customs at any port where they have imported gold consignment in the past.
5. The first lot of gold under this scheme would be based on the highest monthly import during any of the last 24 months prior to the RBI’s notification dated August 14, 2013, subject to a maximum of 2000 Kgs.
6. As in the case of other nominated agencies, the eligible quantity may be imported by STH / PTHs from any port, subject to their eligibility limit / maximum quantity allowed to them.
7. For proper compliance, before import, they must submit the import plan, port-wise and quantity-wise, to the concerned Customs office, where the verification of the figures of past performance was done. This information will be sent to all the other ports from which imports are permitted. The overall discipline of exporting 20% of each imported consignment before the next consignment is imported will be equally applicable to such STH/PTH importers.
8. Further, it has been decided to permit the nominated banks, to give Gold Metal Loans (GML) to domestic jewellery manufacturers  out of the eligible domestic import quota of 80% to the extent of GML outstanding in their books as on March 31, 2013.
9. A revised working example of the operations of 20:80 scheme envisaged in terms of the revised instructions is given in the Annex.
10. All other instructions will remain unchanged
11. Authorised dealers may please bring the contents of this circular to the notice of their constituents and customers concerned.
12. The directions contained in this circular have been issued under Section 10(4) and Section 11(1) of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA), 1999 (42 of 1999), and are without prejudice to permissions / approvals, if any, required under any other law.

Yours faithfully,

(C D Srinivasan)
 Chief General Manager

Read: Import of Gold by Nominated Banks / Agencies / Entities