ED Seizes Rs 29.75 Crore Assets in PNB Fraud Case Involving Fugitive Nirav Modi

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has attached assets worth Rs 29.75 crore in the Rs 6,498.20 crore PNB fraud case involving Nirav Modi. The investigation has resulted in the seizure of both immovable and bank assets, adding to previously seized assets worth crores. Extradition proceedings are ongoing in London.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has attached proceeds of crime in the form of immovable properties and bank balances amounting to Rs 29.75 crore in the expansive Rs 6,498.20 crore Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud involving fugitive Nirav Modi, the agency revealed on Wednesday. The properties were attached by ED's Mumbai Zonal Office.

The ED initiated its probe based on the First Information Report (FIR) filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) under sections of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, and the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988. During the investigation, the assets belonging to Nirav Modi and his group, valued at Rs 29.75 crore in the form of land, buildings, and bank balances, were provisionally attached under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.

Previously, the ED had attached movable and immovable assets of Nirav Modi and his associates worth Rs 2,596 crore. Additionally, assets worth Rs 692.90 crore have been confiscated under the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, 2018 by a Special Court in Mumbai. Assets worth another Rs 1052.42 crore have been restored to the victim banks, including PNB and a consortium of banks. Prosecution complaints under PMLA, 2002, were filed against Nirav Modi and his associates.

Simultaneously, extradition proceedings against Nirav Modi are ongoing in London. Earlier this year, Nirav Modi's seventh bail application was denied by a UK Court. An appeal filed by him in the UK High Court was later withdrawn. He is currently lodged in a UK jail.

(With inputs from agencies.)