The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday attached the movable properties of fugitive Nirav Modi. According to inputs, the central agency has seized assets worth Rs 253.62 crore of the fugitive. The ED has attached gold, jewellery and bank balance as proceeds of crime in the case of Nirav Modi and a group of companies in Hong Kong. With this fresh attachment, the total attached and/or seized assets tally in the case stands at Rs. 2650.07 Cr.
Modi has been accused of being the principal beneficiary of the fraudulent issuance of Letters of Undertaking as a part of an alleged conspiracy to defraud the Punjab National Bank to the extent of Rs 13,570 crore. Since his arrest on March 19, 2019, the PNB scam accused has been languishing in the Wandsworth Prison after being repeatedly denied bail.
Speaking on the case ED said in a statement, “Some assets of Nirav Modi group of companies in Hong Kong were identified in the form of gems and jewellery lying in private vaults and bank balances in accounts maintained there and these have been provisionally attached under sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).”
It is important to mention here that Nirav Modi, 50, is presently lodged in a UK jail and has lost his extradition plea to India in connection with the USD 2-billion PNB fraud case that is also being investigated by the CBI.
On April 11, Monday, Subhash Shankar, a close associate of Nirav Modi, was deported from Egypt. In one of Nirav Modi’s businesses, Subhash Shankar served as the deputy general manager. He is reportedly the main person of interest in the Punjab National Bank fraud, which the Central Bureau of Investigation is looking into, and was brought to Mumbai from Cairo on Monday (CBI).
The CBI had been investigating the bank fraud case for a while and was attempting to return Shankar to India. He is anticipated to provide a lot more evidence in the case, according to sources within the government. After his arrival in India, it was anticipated that the CBI would take custody of him. In connection with the $2 billion PNB scandal, the CBI requested that Interpol issue a Red Corner Notice against Nirav Modi, his brother Nishal, and his employee Subhash Shankar.
