NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court on Wednesday issued a notice to the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on a plea filed by PNB fraud accused
Nirav Modi. On Tuesday, the billionaire diamantaire's firm Firestar Diamond International had moved court against seizure of his properties by
ED.
Delhi High Court on Wednesday said that it is not clear under what authority the ED went to search Nirav Modi's properties. Incidentally, on the plea filed by Firestar Diamond International, the company had sought quashing of the order passed by the ED for seizure of movable property. It had also challenged the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) that allow the ED to conduct search and seizure of property. It further claimed that the ED conducted the search without following due process and didn't give a copy of the search warrant to the company officials.
The judge hearing the plea has described the case as "sketchy". The judge further said that the court will wait to see what the ED has to say because Nirav Modi's lawyer Vijay Aggarwal does not seem to be too sure of the facts of the case
Speaking to the media,
Vijay Agarwal said that the fact that "there is no information" is the basis of Firestar's petition. He further said that the court will next hear the matter on March 19.
Last month, the ED officials had cited independent valuation to claim that they had seized Nirav Modi's properties worth Rs 6,393 crore. The investigation agency made the claim after attaching 21 properties, including a penthouse and a farmhouse of Nirav Modi and his group worth over Rs 523 crore on February 24. The agency had earlier seized gems, diamonds, jewellery, shares, bank deposits and cars since it registered a criminal case under the PMLA on February 14.
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