ED attaches more assets of Nirav Modi

MUMBAI: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has attached immovable properties and bank balances collectively worth Rs 29.75 crore in connection with the Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud case involving diamond merchant Nirav Modi. The attached assets include land and bank accounts belonging to Nirav Modi and his group companies. This is in addition to the movable and immovable assets worth Rs 2,596 crore that the ED had previously attached in the case, both in India and abroad.

Nirav Modi is accused of defrauding PNB of Rs 6,500 crore. He fled the country in early 2018 after the CBI and ED booked him in the loan fraud case. He was subsequently declared a fugitive economic offender by a court in India. Indian authorities are currently pursuing the case in the UK for Nirav Modi's extradition to India.

Following a request from Indian government authorities seeking his arrest, Nirav Modi was apprehended in London in 2019. The UK court had rejected his bail application seven times in the past. He later filed an appeal in the UK high court against the order but subsequently withdrew it. Nirav Modi has been in jail in the UK since his arrest.

During the investigation, the ED identified additional properties and bank balances belonging to Nirav Modi and his group of companies, which they have now attached in the case. The ED had previously handed over most of the attached properties to PNB in 2021 for auction, including Rhythm House. These properties were primarily mortgaged with the bank by Nirav Modi while seeking loan facilities.

However, some properties, such as the flats in Samudra Mahal, which were not mortgaged, remained with the ED. After completing the legal proceedings of confiscation, these properties became government assets. Nirav Modi's son had approached a court claiming ownership over the Samudra Mahal flat, and PNB also requested the ED to hand over these flats to them.

The PNB fraud case has been a significant financial scandal in India, with Nirav Modi and his uncle Mehul Choksi together accused of defrauding PNB of over Rs 13,000 crore.