PNB Scam: ED seizes 9 luxury cars owned by Nirav Modi & company, freezes mutual funds
ED seized 9 cars worth over Rs 8 crore as a part of its ongoing probe (Picture: ANI)
The Enforcement Directorate has seized nine cars owned by Nirav Modi and his group companies in connection with the Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud case. The retail price of the seized vehicles is well over Rs 8 crore.
The cars include one Rolls Royce Ghost, two Mercedes Benz GL 350 CDIs, one Porsche Panamera, 3 Honda cars, one Toyota Fortuner and one Toyota Innova.
The ED also froze mutual funds and shares of Nirav Modi (worth Rs 7.80 Crore) and Mehul Choksi Group (worth Rs 86.72 crore).
Nirav Modi and Gitanjali Gems Chairman and Managing Director Mehul Choksi have been accused of cheating the PNB to the tune of over Rs. 11300 crores.
Both ED and the CBI are probing the matter. The agencies have arrested multiple officials till date and conducted searches and raids at various locations linked to the duo.
The scam was started in 2011 and was detected in the third week of January this year, after which the PNB officials reported it to the concerned agencies.
Other updates:
Documents seized: ED sleuths sealed the residence of a PNB official in Kalyan yesterday and seized several important documents related to the fraud case.
IT attaches Rs 145 crore: The Income tax department has attached Rs 145.74 crore of Nirav Modi which was found in several bank accounts that the department had attached. A total of 141 bank accounts and FDs of the group have been attached till date.
Farmhouse sealed: The CBI, after conducting searches, sealed Nirav Modi’s farmhouse in Alibaug on Wednesday. The farmhouse is spread across an area of around 1.5 acres and houses a palatial bungalow named ‘Roapanya’ within its premises.
Searches underway: ED carried out searches at 17 locations in Mumbai in connection with its ongoing probe yesterday. The searches will continue today and in the foreseeable future.
Shell companies under scanner: The ED has also carried out searches at four firms which it suspects were shell companies. In total, Nirav Modi and his uncle Mehul Choksi are allegedly linked to 120 shell companies.
PNB official arrested: CBI arrested Rajesh Jindal, who was the head of PNB’s Brady House branch in Mumbai during 2009-2011. It is alleged that the issuance of Letters of Undertaking (LoU) to accused firms without sanctioned limits started during his tenure.
Officials of accused firms arrested: A total of five employees – three from Nirav Modi’s firms and two from Mehul Choksi’s – were arrested earlier this week. They have been sent to police custody till March 5.
Nirav Modi out for business: The businessman’s lawyer, Vijay Aggarwal, told reporters that Nirav Modi is not absconding. He claimed that the trader, who runs a global business, is out of India for business purpose.
