Gems, jewellery among Nirav Modi’s Rs 250 crore assets attached by ED

Mangalore Today News Network

New Delhi, July 22, 2022: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has attached properties, jewellery and bank balances, amounting to Rs 253.62 crore, belonging to fugitive jeweler Nirav Modi under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

 

The action was taken against Nirav Modi group of companies based on an FIR filed under sections 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property), 467 (forgery of valuable security), 471 (using as genuine a forged document), 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code and other relevant sections of Prevention of Corruption Act.

Nirav Modi is currently lodged in a UK jail and has lost his extradition plea to India in connection with the Punjab National Bank fraud case. He is being probed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the PNB fraud case and by the ED for money laundering related to the PNB scam.

Ruling that Nirav Modi can be extradited to India to face charges of fraud and money laundering amounting to an estimated $2 billion, a UK court on February 25 said that prima facie there is evidence against the diamond merchant.

However, the court also added that there was no evidence to suggest that Nirav Modi would not get a fair trial if he was extradited to India.

Nirav Modi is wanted in India for fraud and money laundering in connection with the Rs 14,000 crore PNB scam.

The PNB fraud case against Nirav Modi is being probed by the CBI and relates to fraudulent obtaining of letters of undertakings (LoUs) or loan agreements. The ED case pertains to laundering of the proceeds of that fraud.

Apart from these cases, Nirav Modi also faces two additional charges of "causing the disappearance of evidence" and intimidating witnesses or "criminal intimidation to cause death", which were added to the CBI case.

Courtesy: India Today