The fugitive Indian diamantaire and prime accused in the Rs 13,500 crore PNB fraud has been arrested in the United Kingdom. He will be produced in the court later.
Nirav Modi’s arrest comes days after a Westminster Court issued an arrest warrant against him on March 13, according to the Enforcement Directorate (ED).
The London-based newspaper The Telegraph reported that Nirav Modi was recently spotted in a tony neighborhood of London wearing a 10,000 Pound Ostrich hide jacket.
In July 2018, the Interpol had issued a red corner notice against Nirav Modi in July 2018 on the request of ED and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
Nirav Modi has fled after allegedly siphoning off about Rs 13,0000 crore from Punjab National Bank (PNB) using Letters of Undertaking in agreement with his uncle Mehul Choski. The CBI on January 31 registered an FIR against him on the basis of the complaint against him and his uncle Mehul Choksi from the bank. It was followed by another FIR by the agency against him.
Nirav Modi’s brother and wife were also named as accused in the FIR. His wife Ami, the United States citizen, brother Nishal, a Belgian, and uncle Choksi, Gitanjali group’s promoter, had also fled the country in the first week of January.
The case pertains to reportedly cheating the state-run Punjab National Bank through fraudulent issuance of Letters of Undertakings (LoUs) and Foreign Letters of Credit (FLCs).
The ED on February 26 attached Rs 147 crore properties of the fugitive businessman and his associate companies in connection with the PNB fraud case.
By Sowmya Sangam
