The Brady House branch of the Punjab National Bank (PNB) in Mumbai, once at the center of a massive financial scam, has been transformed into a cozy cafe. The branch was infamous for the multi-million dollar scam involving diamantaire Nirav Modi and his uncle Mehul Choksi, who allegedly defrauded the bank of over Rs 13,000 crore between 2011 and 2017. The scam, which involved the use of Letters of Undertaking (LoUs) and foreign letters of credit (FLCs), was discovered in January 2018, after which the PNB submitted a fraud report to the Reserve Bank of India and lodged a complaint with the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
After the scam was exposed, the PNB shifted the Brady House branch’s operations to a new location, PNB House, and vacated the premises. The building, located in the Fort area of south Mumbai, was then rented out and has since been converted into a posh cafe. The cafe, which offers organic coffee and a comfortable seating area, has become a popular spot for business meetings and casual chats. The transformation of the Brady House branch is a stark contrast to the chaos that erupted after the scam was discovered, and the premises are now a tranquil oasis in the heart of the city.
The scam’s masterminds, Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi, had fled the country before the scam was exposed, and have been the subject of investigations by the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate (ED). In 2019, Modi was arrested in London on an extradition warrant, and has been in prison since. More recently, Choksi was arrested in Belgium on an extradition request by Indian agencies. Despite the ongoing developments in the case, the Brady House cafe remains a popular destination, unaffected by the scandal that once rocked the financial world. The cafe’s calm and cozy atmosphere is a far cry from the turmoil that once characterized the PNB’s Brady House branch.