Mumbai: The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has attached three out of four properties here of fugitive diamond businessman Nirav Modi for the recovery of property tax worth Rs 9.5 crore pending against them, a civic official said Thursday.
Since, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) is in the process of auctioning four properties of the businessman, including three commercial and a residential one, the civic body has also written a letter to the agency asking to pay property tax dues as early as possible.
A commercial property of Nirav Modi is located at the Peninsula Business Park in Lower Parel area of Mumbai and two commercial ones are at Kohinoor City in suburban Kurla. Besides, the residential property is located at Kalina, a senior civic official said.
The official added that they have already attached three properties – two commercial and one residential – and the process of attachment of the fourth is in process. He also said that they have pasted the tax notice on the businessman’s property in Lower Parel.
The official said the BMC has the first claim on the proceeds from auction of Nirav Modi’s properties, and the ED has given a ‘positive’ response to their claim about property tax.
The ED earlier registered a money-laundering case against Nirav Modi and his uncle Mehul Choksi for allegedly defrauding the Punjab National Bank (PNB) of Rs 13,600 crore.
The BMC has decided to seize the movable properties of all defaulters for the recovery of pending property tax, apart from launching an awareness drive last month.
It is first targeting commercial properties for the recovery of tax, and will then move to residential and individual properties, the official said.
PTI