A fresh seizure of antique jewellery, costly watches and paintings of Amrita Sher-Gil and M.F. Hussain worth ₹26 crore has been made by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) from the sea-facing Mumbai apartment of diamantaire Nirav Modi in connection with the over ₹12,000 crore PNB fraud case.
Officials said the ED, along with the CBI, launched fresh searches on March 22 at the Samudra Mahal luxury residential flats of Mr. Nirav Modi in Mumbai’s Worli area, resulting in the recovery of the fresh valuables.
Antique jewellery, worth ₹15 crore, costly watches valued at ₹1.4 crore, and paintings of acclaimed artists like Amrita Sher-Gil, M F Hussain and K.K. Hebbar, valued at ₹10 crore, were seized over the last three days under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), the officials said.
Diamond ring worth ₹10 crore seized
A lone diamond ring in this cache is valued at ₹10 crore, they added.
The ED has filed two money laundering FIRs against Nirav Modi and his uncle and Gitanjali Gems promoter Mehul Choksi to probe the alleged over ₹1,200 crore fraud in the Punjab National Bank (PNB).
The ED has notified the Interpol for a global arrest warrant against the two as they left India early this year and have not appeared before it after summonses were issued to them. A Mumbai special court has issued non-bailable warrants against them on the ED's request.
It has conducted a total of 251 country-wide searches in this case after it began the criminal probe against the accused in February.
The total seizure and attachment of diamond, gold, precious and semi-precious stones and other movable and immovable assets in the case stand at ₹7,638 crore.
