Britain has replied to Indian queries regarding whereabouts of businessman Nirav Modi over his alleged role in the infamous PNB scam. Nirav Modi is primary accused in the Rs 13,500 PNB fraud.
News agency IANS in its report citing sources had said that English authorities have finally replied to the CBI’s mail. Earlier CBI had issued the diffusion notice in February against Nirav Modi, his wife who is an US citizen, Modi’d brother Nishal Modi and his uncle Mehul Choksi for locating their whereabouts.
A diffusion notice is issued by the Interpol, an International criminal police organization that facilitates international police cooperation, to other nations in order to seek help in identifying relevant information of a wanted person.
After getting the diffusion notice issued through the Interpol channel on February 15, the CBI proactively pursued it with the NCBs (National Central Bureau) of individual countries likely to be visited by the accused fugitives reiterating the confirmation of their locations. The UK has shared certain details of moments of the fugitives, the sources informed IANS.
Meanwhile, according to the Enforcement Directorate, Nirav Modi’s sister and other family members were the recipients of the chunk of the proceeds in PNB fraud.
“Apart from Nirav Modi, who is absconding, the proceeds of the scam went specifically to his sister (Purvi Modi) and his other family members,” ED counsel Hiten Venegaonkar told PTI.
The ED had last month filed a 12,000-page chargesheet in the multi-crore Punjab National Bank (PNB) cheating and fraud case against Nirav Modi and 23 others, including his father Deepak Modi, sister Purvi Mehta, brother-in-law Maiank Mehta, brother Neeshal Modi and another relative Nehal Modi.
The ED has charged the accused under various sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in the over Rs 13,000 crore PNB scam case.
The court has taken cognisance of the chargesheet and is satisfied that a case under Prevention of Money Laundering (PMLA) Act is made out against the accused, he said.
Purvi Modi’s Dubai-based firm had purchased diamonds from some dummy companies of Nirav Modi in Dubai but didn’t make any payment for the transactions, Venegaonkar said quoting the chargesheet.
The ED also found that Nirav Modi had appointed multiple dummy directors for his shell companies to rotate the fund acquired through the Letters of Undertaking (LoU) issued by the Punjab National Bank, the ED counsel said.
“In his statement, one of the accused Shayam Shunder Wadhwa, has admitted that he appointed dummy directors for various shell companies of Modi,” Venegaonkar said. (With inputs from PTI)
