After PNB, Bank of India reaches Hong Kong court to recover $6.25 million from Nirav Modi; files lawsuit
New Delhi, May 10: The Bank of India (BOI) has filed a lawsuit against the fugitive offender Nirav Modi and his companies in a Hong Kong court in a bid to recover money he received on the basis of illegally-secured letters of undertaking, or LoUs.
The Bank of India has filed a lawsuit against fugitive offender Nirav Modi and his four companies including Firestar Diamonds and Firestar Diamonds International to around $6.25 million he received on the basis of fake LoUs. BOI became the second bank to file a lawsuit against Nirav Modi in a Hong Kong court after Punjab National Bank (PNB). PNB moved a recovery writ for an amount over $5 million.
Notably, a month before, the Ministry of External Affairs confirmed that the fugitive offender Nirav Modi, who was involved in more than Rs 13,000 PNB scam is in Hong Kong. However, Indian authorities have already sought the provisional arrest of Nirav Modi to Hong Kong.
The development comes nearly three months after the biggest fraudulent case hit Mumbai in the month of February where Punjab National Bank reported that it has detected fraudulent and unauthorized transactions in one of its branches in Mumbai. The cumulative fraud amounts stand to Rs 13000 crores.
After the scam was unveiled, the Enforcement Directorate registered an FIR under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act and conducted raids after the surfacing of the alleged fraud by billionaire diamond trader Nirav Modi and his Mumbai-based firms Diamonds R Us, Solar Exports and Stellar Diamonds.
On the other side, the CBI also registered fresh FIRs against 10 directors of the Gitanjali Group of companies on charges of criminal conspiracy and cheating under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Prevention of Corruption Act, including Mehul Choksi, the Managing Director of Gitanjali Gems Ltd based in Mumbai's Walkeshwar. The FIR also named two former bank employees said to be directly involved in the fraudulent transactions.
Intensifying the probe, CBI sealed Brady House branch of Punjab National Bank in Mumbai from where the Rs 11,378.68 Crores PNB scam was originated. The action was based on EDs raid at over 45 more locations in 15 cities across India in connection with the multi-crore Punjab National Bank (PNB) scam.
Importantly, Nirav Modi and his brother Nishal Modi left the country on 1st of January this year. Nirav Modi's wife, an American citizen, left India on 6 January while Mehul Choksi left the country on 4 January. CBI received a complaint from PNB on 29th Jan 2018and registered the case on 31st January.