New Delhi, April 5: In a major success to the Indian investigation agencies in the Rs 13,000-crore Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud case, the Belgian authorities on Wednesday froze two accounts of billionaire jeweler Nirav Modi.
Notably, on the request of Enforcement Directorate (ED), the Belgian authorities have frozen two accounts of billionaire jeweler Nirav Modi. Earlier, the Enforcement Directorate reached out to the Belgian government via diplomatic channels and sought to freeze the accounts of Nirav Modi so that he could not use funds.
Apart from Belgium, the ED has sent Letters Rogatories (LRs) to countries including Hong Kong, Switzerland, the United States, the United Kingdom, Dubai, Singapore and South Africa, tracking the diamond and gold jewellery businesses of the firms owned by Modi, his uncle Mehul Choksi and others associated with them.
The move comes one and half month after the biggest fraudulent case hit Mumbai last month 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.