A special court in Mumbai on Wednesday issued a non-bailable warrant against diamond merchant Nirav Modi’s wife Ami, against whom the Enforcement Directorate (ED) had recently filed a chargesheet alleging she had a role in money laundering, along with others, in the Punjab National Bank fraud case.
The court also allowed the auction of 68 paintings and 11 vehicles.
The proceeds will be deposited in the ED’s account.
“In all, 173 paintings belonging to Camelot Enterprises Private Limited (beneficially owned by Nirav Modi) were seized by the Income Tax authorities during the probe for recovery of tax dues to the tune of ₹95.91 crore. The paintings, valued at ₹57.72 crore, were provisionally attached by the ED,” said an official.
The court has allowed the Income-Tax Department to sell 68 paintings following a no objection from the ED.
“In a related development, the special court also allowed sale of 11 vehicles belonging to Mr. Nirav Modi on an application by the ED. These vehicles were provisionally attached. The attachment order was confirmed by the Adjudicating Authority,” said the official.
In the supplementary charge sheet, the ED has alleged that Nirav Modi owned another jewellery store chain named Bailey Bank & Biddle in the United States, in which fraudulent Letters of Undertaking (LoU) for $47 million were diverted.
The ED alleges that Mr. Nirav Modi had bought a property in the United States for $ 25 million in 2017, through “The Ithaca Trust”, which was set up by his sister Purvi. His children were its beneficiaries.
The funds came from the fiduciary account of “The Commonwealth Trust Company” , which had received money via several accounts, including Ami’s. Her last known location was in the U.S.
