ED files its 1st chargesheet in PNB case

Mumbai: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday filed its first chargesheet in the alleged Rs 6,500-crore fraudulent transactions at Punjab National Bank (PNB) by Nirav Modi Group firms. Sources have said that in its 12,000-pages chargesheet, which was filed before a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court in Mumbai, the ED has named some family members of fugitive diamantaire Nirav Modi too. The 24 persons against whom the chargesheet was filed include Modi, his associates and bank officials — as well as few companies owned by him.

This is the first time that the agency has named family members in a chargesheet. The ED has also mentioned the details of attachments made by the agency against Modi and his associates during the last few months after it had registered FIR in the fraud case.

The chargesheet has details of modus operandi adopted by Modi and other accused in getting letters of undertakings (LoUs) and foreign letters of credit (FLCs) issued in favour of Modi’s company without following the process practiced in PNB. The chargesheet also speaks of the roles played by some of the accused bank officials.
According to an ED officer, the probe in the case is still going on and the agency might file a supplementary chargesheet when more evidence is gathered.

The ED chargesheet has come on the heels of a CBI chargesheet against Modi in the fraud case earlier this month. The ED has filed the FIR based on the complaint registered by the CBI and both the agencies are probing the matter simultaneously.
The fraud came to light when the PNB, on February 14, claimed that it had detected a fraud worth thousands of crores of rupees allegedly committed by Modi and his uncle Mehol Choksi using fake PNB LoUs. Both Modi and Choksi fled the country around a month before the scam came to light.

The PMLA court has already issued non-bailable warrant (NBW) against Modi on the ED’s request. The agency had sought the issuance of an NBW against Modi, saying he has failed to join the investigation despite several summons and requests by the ED.

According to an ED officer, the agency has attached immovable properties belonging to Nirav Modi Group and Choksi’s group to the tune of Rs 7,638 crore. The fraud was committed during 2011-17.

According to ED sources, the attached properties includes four commercial
premises in Mumbai and Surat (with present market value worth Rs 72.87 crore), 106 bank accounts (that have a balance of Rs Rs 55.12 crore), 15 demat accounts (that have Rs 35.86 crore) and 11 cars valued at Rs 4.01 crore.

Property worth Rs 171.26 crore in the form of movable and immovable properties has been provisionally attached on the basis of bank statements, property documents and statements recorded of the persons concerned, under sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) 2002. According to the ED, so far searches have been carried out at over 251 properties across the country as part of the probe in this case.