The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has registered a case against jewellery retailer Gitanjali in a $1.77 billion fraud at state-run Punjab National Bank (PNB), a source at the agency said on Friday.

The CBI is conducting searches at 20 locations in six cities of the Gitanjali group of firms promoted by Mehul Choksi, the source said.

Choksi, managing director of Gitanjali Gems, along with billionaire jeweller and diamond merchant Nirav Modi are accused of being at the centre of the fraud involving PNB, the country second-largest state-run lender. (Reuters)