PNB Scam: Non-bailable warrant against Nirav Modi, 10 key developments so far

Trouble does not seem to stop for diamond trader Nirav Modi, who is a main accused in the Punjab National Bank (PNB) scam, which allegedly would now somewhere around $2 billion. 

While, the probing agencies are doing the constant rounds of interrogating to unearthed one of the biggest scams in history of PSUs. It has been reported that the Enforcement Directorate (ED) moving a court for a non-bailable warrant (NBW) and another court issuing summons to Nirav Modi in a tax evasion case.

Below we have listed out 10 major points related to the case that we know so far: 

1. As mentioned above, a apecial PMLA Court Judge M S Azmi in Mumbai heard the arguments of ED special counsel Hiten Venegoankar over issuing a NBW against Nirav Modi, who reportedly is in the US. 

2. On Tuesday, the ED has also requested the court to issue fresh Letter Rogatory (LR) to six countries to seize properties of the accused in those respective nations. 

Such actions follow other moves that have been taken against Nirav Modi and the Punjab National Bank this week to recover the money. 

3. On Monday, Firestar Diamond Inc, the flagship company of billionaire Nirav Modi filed for bankruptcy in USA.

4. Last week, the Enforcement Directorate attached Nirav Modi’s 21 immovable properties worth Rs 523.72 crore in connection with an ongoing probe into the fraud case while the CBI said it has questioned PNB executive director KV Brahmaji Rao, two general managers and a retired official on Monday in connection with its probe into the multi-crore fraud. 

Bank deposits, shares and luxury cars worth over Rs 100 crore belonging to the businessman and his group have been recovered. Investigative agencies have also frozen assets such as bank accounts of Modi’s uncle-cum-business partner Mehul Choksi, a co-accused in the PNB scam. 

5. The CBI on Tuesday stated that PNB has informed them that the amount of fraud is more than the earlier internal calculation. The Bank informed the probing agency that the they have found further scam of Rs 1, 251 crore with respect to Gitanjali Gems. The agency in now investigating a scam totaling Rs 12, 636 crore, against the earlier amount of Rs 11,421 crore as mentioned by the Bank.

6. CBI also questioned two top officers of ICICI Bank and Punjab National Bank. 

The CBI examined NS Kannan, Executive Director, of ICICI Bank, and PNB's former managing director Usha Ananthasubramanian in Mumbai. Apart from them, the CBI questioned two PNB international banking division general managers Nihal Ahad and Vimlesh Kumar.

7. Ananthasubramanian is currently the managing director and CEO of Allahabad Bank, and she was the MD and CEO of PNB from August 2015-May 2017, and was the first woman chairperson of IBA. She was quizzed with respect to letter of undertakings (LoU) and foreign letter of credits (FLC) given to Nirav and Choksi firms.

The CBI said that they have examined Kannan, pertaining to another set of loans of Rs 5,208 crore, given to Gitanjali Group in 2016.

8. ICICI is the leader of consortium of banks that lend money to Gitanjali Group of Companies. ICICI Bank alone had given a loan of Rs 773 crore. 

9. The CBI had filed the first FIR in the scam on February 14 against Nirav Modi, his wife Ami, brother Nishal, uncle Mehul Choksi and his firms Diamond R US, Solar Exports and Stellar Diamond.

Nirav Modi, his family and Choksi left the country in early January.    

10. Modi’s counsel Vijay Agarwal said the diamond jeweller may return to India only if the prosecution assures him of a free and fair trial. Also, after the last summons issued to him by the ED, Modi in an email addressed to the ED, said that his business was working at a loss and that he was working hard abroad to get things in place.