PNB fraud | Interpol issues diffusion notice to locate Nirav Modi and others

The Interpol on Friday issued a diffusion notice to locate billionaire jewellery designer Nirav Modi and his family members in connection to the Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud case.

Earlier during the day, officials said the CBI approached the Interpol with a request for issuing Diffusion Notice which was aimed at locating an individual.

"This (diffusion) is less formal than a notice but is also used to request the arrest or location of an individual or additional information in relation to a police investigation. A diffusion is circulated directly by an NCB (CBI in this case) to the member countries of their choice, or to the entire INTERPOL membership and is simultaneously recorded in Interpol’s Information System," the website of Interpol says.

Earlier, it was reported that Nirav Modi, his wife Ami, his brother Nishal and business partner Mehul Choksi fled the country in the first week of January. 

The fact came to light in the Enforcement Directorate’s probe. The billionaire jewellery designer holds a Belgium passport and had left India just before the Punjab National Bank knocked the doors of investigating agencies. The ED has informed about the development  to  the Ministry of Finance on Thursday.

Nirav Modi's brother Nishal, a Belgian citizen, also left the country on January 1, while wife Ami, a US citizen, and business partner Mehul Choksi, the Indian promoter of Gitanjali jewellery chain, departed on January 6, the officials said.

The agency issued a look out circular against all the four after registering the first FIR against them, they said. A look out circular is issued by enforcement agencies to all exit and entry ports to inform them about the movement of an accused.

The CBI has also sealed the residence of Ami Modi, wife of Nirav Modi in Mumbai's Worli in connection with the case.

Earlier on Thursday, the ED has written to Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) seeking revocation of passports of Nirav Modi, his wife Ami Modi and his relative Mehul Choksi accused in the PNB scam.

The Punjab National Bank (PNB) detected a 1.77 billion dollars scam in which jeweller Nirav Modi acquired fraudulent letters of undertaking from one of its branches for overseas credit from other Indian lenders.

The PNB has suspended its 10 officers involved in this scam and referred the matter to the CBI for investigation.

The scam was started in 2011 and was detected in the third week of January this year, after which the PNB officials reported it to the concerned agencies.

The CBI had received the complaint from PNB on January 28 and a case was registered in the case on January 31.

The probe agency also issued the circulars against all the accused on January 31.

(With ANI and PTI inputs)