ED tightens noose on fugitive Nirav Modi again, seizes assets worth more than 29 crores

New Delhi: In the Punjab National Bank fraud case of about Rs 6500 crore, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has seized fugitive diamond trader Nirav Modi’s property worth Rs 29 crore 75 lakh. This property is in the form of land, buildings and money in bank accounts of Nirav Modi and his/her group companies, which has been attached by the Mumbai Zonal Office of ED. ED said in a statement on Wednesday that this step has been taken on the basis of FIR registered by CBI, BS & FS branch Mumbai. This FIR was registered under sections of IPC 1860 and Prevention of Corruption Act 1988. It is related to the bank fraud case of Rs 6498 crore 20 lakh.

During investigation it was discovered that this property

According to ED, during the investigation, property worth Rs 29 crore 75 lakh was found in India in the form of land, buildings and bank accounts of Nirav Modi and his/her group companies. It was seized under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). ED has earlier seized movable and immovable properties worth about Rs 2596 crore of Nirav Modi and his/her associates in India and abroad.

At the same time, under the provisions of the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act 2018, the Special Court (FEOA) Mumbai has also seized movable and immovable assets worth Rs 692 crore of Nirav and his/her associates. Earlier this year, Nirav had appealed for bail in the UK court, but the appeal was rejected. Nirav Modi is currently in a UK jail.

Who is Nirav Modi?

Nirav Modi, popularly known as Diamond King, belongs to a famous diamond broker family of Antwerp city of Belgium. After studying from Wharton School of America, Nirav Modi started a jewellery brand in his/her name in the year 2010. his/her designed jewellery was in great demand in Hollywood. In the year 2017, Nirav Modi had reached the 85th position in the Forbes Billionaire list. At that time, Nirav Modi had 1.73 billion dollars i.e. about 11000 crore rupees.