The Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), in a joint search over three days to Saturday, seized assets estimated at around ₹25 crore from the Worli residence of businessman Nirav Modi, as part of the investigations into the multi-crore Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud case.
“The search started on Thursday and went on till Saturday, and during this time, we have seized high-end and antique jewellery valued at ₹15 crore, high-end watches worth ₹1.4 crore, and paintings by renowned artists like M.F. Hussain, K.K. Hebbar and Amrita Sher-Gil worth about ₹10 crore,” an ED officer said.
The ED has so far seized precious stones and jewellery worth crores from 251 properties belonging to the Nirav Modi Group and Mehul Choksi’s Gitanjali Group across the country.
Several properties have been provisionally attached under provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), which empowers investigating agencies to attach and liquidate assets of the accused to compensate victims for their losses.
“The total value of assets seized and attached so far comes to ₹7,638 crore,” the officer said.
The CBI booked Mr. Modi and his family members on January 31, as well as his maternal uncle Mehul Choksi, along with concerned officials of the PNB, in connection with the issuance of fraudulent Letters of Understanding (LoU) amounting to over ₹12,000 crore. The ED, too, subsequently registered a case in the matter under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
It has been alleged that five employees of PNB, among those arrested for the fraud so far, issued LoUs to overseas branches of several banks in favour of Mr. Modi and Mr. Choksi’s companies without entering the details into the system, causing massive losses to the bank.
