Mumbai: A magistrate court on Tuesday issued a bailable arrest warrant against beleaguered diamond trader Nirav Modi in connection with a case of tax evasion on purchase of a property.
According to an official of the income tax department, the court issued the warrant on an application moved by the department through public prosecutor Amit Munde.
According to an officer, the IT department officials had gone to Modi’s residence in Worli with summons but they found the home locked. Following this, the officials decided to initiate prosecution against Modi and filed a case of tax evasion against him. The prosecution’s case is that the department in 2017 was investigating a case against Modi in connection with the purchase of a property. The officials recorded Modi’s statement and also statements of his employees. Later, it was found that the property was ‘benami’ in nature and it was revealed that Modi had allegedly given false statement to department.
According to the officer, the department found mismatch in property details and thus it was evident that Modi evaded tax.
Meanwhile, The Enforcement Directorate (ED) approached the special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court seeking issuance of non-bailable warrant (NBW) against Modi. The court has deferred hearing on this application, as an advocate requested the court to allow him to represent Modi’s side.
