ED attaches Nirav Modi's assets worth Rs 147cr attached
The officials said that the said assets include costly paintings, luxury properties and high-end cars, among other things.
Mumbai: As a part of a fresh crackdown in the Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud case involving fugitive diamantaire Nirav Modi, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday, attached illicit assets of his worth Rs 147.72 crore from Mumbai and Surat. The officials said that the said assets include costly paintings, luxury properties and high-end cars, among other things.
The attached properties are in the name of Modi and his fraudulent companies, ED officials said. The provisionally attached movable and immovable properties consists of eight cars, machinery, consignments of jewellery, paintings and immovable property owned by Modi and his groups such as M/s Firestar Diamond International Private Lim-ited, M/s Firestar Intern-ational Private Limited, Radheshir Jewellery Company Private Limited and Rhythm House Private Limited.
The officials said that substantial proceeds of crime obtained fraudulently by Modi-owned group of firms M/s Solar Exports, M/s Stellar Diamonds, M/s Diamond RUS from PNB were diverted to Modi, his relatives and entities controlled by the businessman. The attachment was done after these properties came up during the investigation in the PNB fraud case.
“ED attaches movable and immovable properties in Mumbai and Surat, worth Rs 147.72 crore consisting of 8 cars, Plant & Machinery, consignments of jewellery, paintings and properties owned by Nirav Modi and his group Companies in bank fraud case (sic),” stated ED in an official tweet it put out following the attachment.
The ED had registered a money-laundering case against Modi, his uncle Mehul Choksi and others on February 15, 2018, based on an FIR registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). While the CBI’s case pertained to cheating and criminal conspiracy along offences under the Prevention of Corruption Act involving PNB officials, the ED began looking into the money-laundering angle.
The probe revealed that laundering was facilitated by the issuance of fraudulently Letters Of Undertaking (LoUs) that were issued without following the prescribed procedure, which caused a wrongful loss to the bank. The total attachment in the case has crossed over to Rs 4,800 crore, ED officials said.
Earlier in October, ED issued a provincial order pertaining to Rs 255 crore of his overseas properties. The attachment of the said assets includes those valuables that were exported from Dubai to Hong Kong in 26 shipments. The valuables and jewellery were attached as per the PMLA.
The said exports had taken place from Modi’s companies after the PNB had registered a case with the CBI.