#PNBScam : MEA seeks surrender of Nirav Modi from Hong Kong authorities
New Delhi, April 12: The Ministry of External Affairs on Tuesday ones again confirmed that the fugitive offender Nirav Modi, who was involved in Rs 13,000 PNB scam is in Hong Kong. Notably, the development also comes one and half month 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.
The MEA spokesperson Raveesh Kumar held a press conference in which he confirmed that Nirav Modi is in Hong Kong. However, he further added that the MEA has already requested Hongkong authorities to surrender Nirav Modi.
He said, “We have requested Hong Kong authorities to surrender Nirav Modi.” “There is an agreement between India and Hong Kong about surrender of fugitive offenders and we are still awaiting a response,” Raveesh Kumar added. The MEA spokesperson also stated that so far Indian authorities have not received any information about Nirav Modi or about his arrest from the Hong Kong authorities.
The statement from MEA spokesperson Raveesh Kumar comes few days after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) sent letters rogatory (LRs) to the thirteen countries including Singapore, South Africa, the United Kingdom, Dubai, Belgium, the United States, Russia, France, China, and Hong Kong among others seeking information of the businesses and assets owned by diamond merchant Nirav Modi and his uncle Mehul Choksi.
Meanwhile, CBI has already started examining officials of overseas banks which had issued credit on unsecured letters of undertakings (LoUs). The probe agency also questioned former deputy governor of Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Harun Rashid Khan in its probe. He was asked about the lapses in the statutory audit of the central regulator due to which the mega scam was remained undetected for a long time as the SWIFT messaging system was misused.
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.