Shares of Gitanjali Gems tumbled further by nearly 10 per cent to hit its lowest trading permissible limit for the day after the company came under the scanner of various investigating agencies following the PNB’s Rs 11,300-crore fraud detection.

The stock tanked 9.91 per cent to Rs 30.45 -- its lowest trading permissible limit -- on the BSE. On the NSE, shares of the company nosedived 9.92 per cent to Rs 30.40 -- its lowest price band.

In five straight trading sessions, the stock has lost over 51 per cent, wiping out Rs 383.81 crore from its market valuation. However, other jewellery stocks were trading higher, with Tribhovandas Bhimji Zaveri up by 0.14 per cent and PC Jeweller 2.27 per cent on the BSE.

On February 14, Punjab National Bank (PNB) had disclosed that it detected some fraudulent transactions with a financial implication of about Rs 11,346 crore and the matter has been referred to law enforcement agencies for the recovery.

While billionaire jewellery designer Nirav Modi, the alleged perpetrator of this fraud, is not directly linked to any listed company, his relative and business associate Mehul Choksi’s Gitanjali Gems is a listed firm.

PNB scam has triggered a top level exodus at Gitanjali Gems, with board member S Krishnan saying that there was no one to even organise a board meeting to clarify the issues surrounding the purported fraud.

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