PNB says bank fraud now estimated at nearly $2 bn

India’s Punjab National Bank (PNBK.NS) said late on Monday that the amount of fraudulent transactions involving the bank could go up by about $204 million in addition to the $1.77 billion it had earlier reported.

Earlier this month, the state-run bank said it detected unauthorized transactions of about $1.77 billion at one of its Mumbai branches.

Billionaire jewelers Nirav Modi and his uncle Mehul Choksi, owner of Gitanjali Gems Ltd (GTGM.NS), are suspected of colluding with two employees from Punjab National Bank in the fraud.

At least a dozen people - six from the bank and six more from Modi’s and Choksi’s companies - have been arrested.