CBI questions former RBI deputy governor

New Delhi: The CBI on Friday questioned former Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Harun Rashid Khan in connection with bank scams involving jewellers Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi and relaxation of gold import rules in 2014 by the erstwhile UPA government allegedly to benefit of private traders.

Mr Khan is the senior-most former official of the RBI to be questioned by the CBI in connection with the multi-crore PNB scam. Sources said his questioning revolved around the policy framework of the time when fraudulent Letters of Undertaking (LoUs) wereissued by PNB to the firms of Mr Modi and Mr Choksi.

He was also questioned on the ‘20:80’ gold import scheme, which was cleared by then finance minister P Chidambaram on May 13, 2014, barely three days before the counting of votes of the general election, they said.

The scheme had allegedly helped Mr Choksi’s company and a few other make windfall gains. After questioning the PNB top brass, the agency has now shifted its focus to the policies which could have been exploited by Modi and Choksi to further their alleged cheating. The agency did not reveal the nature of Khan’s questioning. Khan was promoted from within the ranks as a deputy governor on July 1, 2011, and reappointed in July 4, 2014 for two more years.

Mr Khan was in charge of financial markets, internal debt management departments, foreign management among others at the central bank. The CBI had questioned three chief general managers and one General Manager of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Thursday in connection with the case, sources said. The CBI investigation into the matter came four weeks after the NDA government had issued a statement saying it would act