With the aid of his sister Purva Modi, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has recovered Rs 17.25 crore as proceeds of crime from fugitive billionaire Nirav Modi. Purva Modi and her husband Maiank Mehta’s names had been cleared in the Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud case months before.
Nirav Modi, the main suspect in the Rs 13,500 crore PNB fraud case, is presently imprisoned in London.
Purva Modi allegedly transferred $2316889.03 (about Rs 17.25 crore) from a UK bank account to the Government of India’s bank account, according to the ED.
Purva Modi and her husband, Maiank Mehta, were first named as suspects in Nirav Modi’s case.
A Special PMLA Court pardoned them on January 4, 2021, on the condition that they give full and complete disclosure of all elements of the Nirav Modi case.
As a result, the pair was considered as a case approver.
“On June 24, Purva Modi informed the ED that she had learned about one bank account in London in her name, which was created at the demand of her brother, Nirav Modi, and that the monies did not belong to her,” according to the ED statement.
Purvi Modi paid $2316889.03 from her UK bank account to the Government of India’s bank account after being granted a tender of pardon on the condition of providing full and truthful disclosure, according to the statement.
“With the cooperation of Purvi modi, the Enforcement Directorate was able to recover approximately Rs 17.25 crore from the proceeds of crime,” it added.
In the Punjab National Bank corruption case, Nirav Modi is wanted in India on allegations of fraud and money laundering. He lost his court struggle in the United Kingdom to prevent his extradition to India.
Nirav Modi is currently facing two types of criminal charges. The CBI case against him concerns a large-scale fraud against PNB including the illegal acquisition of letters of undertaking (LoUs) or loan agreements, while the ED case concerns the laundering of the scam’s profits.
Aside from these accusations, he also faces two new ones: “causing the removal of evidence” and “criminal intimidation to cause death,” which were added to the CBI case.
