The Interpol has issued a Red Notice against fugitive Mihir Rashmi Bhansali, a close confidant of Punjab National Bank (PNB) scam “mastermind” Nirav Modi, who headed US operations and allegedly played key role in money laundering.
The Red Notice has been opened on the Enforcement Directorate’s request. The agency alleges that Mr. Bhansali was the second-in-command in Firestar Group after Mr. Nirav Modi and was actively involved in the diversion and laundering of funds received from the fraudulently issued Letters of Undertaking (LoUs) via PNB’s Brady House branch in Mumbai.
“He was the head of operations in the United States, where he was instrumental in rotation and diversion of the proceeds of crime,” said an official.
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The accused, with the help of other Firestar Group officials, inducted dummy partners in Solar Exports, Stellar Diamond and Diamond R US, in whose names the LoUs were issued. It is alleged that he was also instrumental in the formation of overseas dummy companies in Hong Kong and Dubai. Present and former employees of the Firestar Group where kept as dummy directors or owners in these entities at his instance.
Mr. Bhansali had allegedly got a secure internal email communication developed and its server was deliberately kept in Dubai to scuttle any possible probe. At his instance, export/import was shown on paper, but they were just rotational transactions.
“The jewellery exported from India was dismantled, the diamonds/pearls taken out of it and gold/silver were sent for melting. The melted metal was re-exported to Dubai or India and precious stones like diamonds and pearls were separately re-exported to India. The whole process was only for inflating the turnover of Indian companies,” the agency alleges.
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After detection of the alleged fraud, Mr. Bhansali and Mr. Nirav Modi’s brother Nehal took 50 kg of gold and substantial cash from Dubai and directed dummy directors not to reveal his name before the authorities. He is director in a few of the dummy companies based in the British Virgin Islands, which are controlled by Mr. Nirav Modi.
The accused had also bought property with $7 million in the United States. The funds are believed to have been generated from the PNB scam. A bankruptcy court in New York had recently issued summons to Mr. Nirav Modi, Mr. Bhansali, his wife Rakhi Bhansali, Ajay Gandhi and Kunal Patel.