Interpol issues red corner notice against fugitive diamantaire Nirav Modi

Mumbai: The Interpol on Monday issued a red corner notice (RCN) against fugitive diamantaire Nirav Modi in connection with the Rs 13,000-crore Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud case.

The Interpol has also issued red corner notice against Nirav Modi's brother Nishal Modi and his company's executive Subhash Parab in the PNB scam, news agency ANI reported.

This comes after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) requested the Interpol to issue the notice against Nirav, who is wanted in India in the money laundering case.

A red corner notice issued by Interpol urges its member countries to detain or arrest an accused, who is wanted in a country.

Nirav, who is at the centre of the multi-crore bank fraud, is reportedly in the UK and needs to be extradited as non-bailable warrants (NBW) are already issued against him.

The Interpol has put out Nirav Modi's photo and has shared his age and other details on its website.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had approached Interpol last month seeking issuance of RCN against Nirav Modi.

Quoting sources news agency PTI had earlier reported that the international agency was satisfied with the documents provided by the CBI which is probing the USD 2 billion scam.

The records the CBI provided to the Interpol included the non-bailable warrants issued by a Mumbai special court and the details of the charge sheets filed in the case etc. The documents were found in order and have satisfied the Lyon-based international police cooperation agency which is "processing" the CBI's request, they said.

Recently, India has also written to the UK, France and Belgium seeking help in trace the fugitive diamantaire even as it asserted that he did not have more than one Indian passport in his possession. The External Affairs Ministry has also sent a message to all its missions as well as to select countries requesting the help of the local government in denying entry to Nirav Modi and inform India if he is residing in their country.

Nirav Modi managed to travel across several countries even after information about his passport being revoked by the Indian government was flashed in the Interpol central database on February 24, the CBI had earlier said.

A special court in Mumbai allowed probe agencies in June to initiate the extradition process of the 47-year-old absconding businessman from the UK over charges of money laundering.

Nirav Modi and his uncle Mehul Choksi are among the main accused in the PNB scam. The duo fled the country in January this year days before the national bank detected the fraud.