New Delhi: Fugitive jeweler Nirav Modi’s wealth and properties worth Rs 637 crore in India and abroad have been seized, the Enforcement Directorate said today. High-priced jewellery, luxe apartments and bank accounts stowing hundreds of crores have been taken over by investigators, in India and four other countries including UK and New York.
Nirav Modi, 47, wanted in a Rs 13,000-crore fraud in which fake guarantees in the name of the state-run Punjab National Bank (PNB) were used to extract overseas loans, is believed to be in the UK.
This is a rare case in which Indian agencies have seized properties abroad in a criminal investigation, said the agency. “Bringing back the proceeds of crime from a foreign jurisdiction is perhaps unique to Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi case,” said the Enforcement Directorate in a statement. Nirav Modi’s jewellery had been shipped abroad after the CBI filed the first FIR against him.
The Enforcement Directorate’s haul features exquisite diamond jewellery worth Rs 22.69 crore brought back to India from Hong Kong in 23 shipments. The jewellery had been shipped abroad after the CBI filed the first FIR against the celebrity jeweler in January.
It had allegedly been stashed in the vault of a private company in Hong Kong on behalf of Nirav Modi. The Enforcement Directorate says it was able to persuade the company to help bring back the jewellery to India. The stock value of the jewellery was declared around Rs 85 crore but an independent assessment brought it down to around Rs 22.7 crore.