After attaching most of his assets in India, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) is now eyeing assets that fugitive jeweller Nirav Modi holds abroad. The agency, probing the Rs 13,500 crore fraud in Punjab National Bank, is preparing to attach multi-crore assets Nirav Modi holds in the US in the form of residential premises and office spaces.
After attaching most of his assets in India, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) is now eyeing assets that fugitive jeweller Nirav Modi holds abroad. The agency, probing the Rs 13,500 crore fraud in Punjab National Bank, is preparing to attach multi-crore assets Nirav Modi holds in the US in the form of residential premises and office spaces.
Sources said that the agency has identified at least three properties, likely to be valued at over Rs 150 crore, and may issue orders anytime next week. These orders will then be sent to the concerned country through letters rogatory (LR), which is a request for assistance by a competent court. Based on the LR, concerned agencies in the US will be expected to execute the attachment orders.
According to sources, the ED is planning to attach Nirav Modi’s personal residence in New York named Essex House located at 160, Central Park South. Modi bought this house in 2007 for $5 million through a limited liability company CPRE and on December 29, 2017, a few weeks before the scam at PNB broke, he transferred the ownership of the house to Ithaca Trust for $6 million. The ultimate beneficiary of this trust is the family of Nirav Modi, sources said.
The agency is also looking to attach Modi’s luxury apartment at Ritz Carlton at 50, South Central Park in the US. This property, sources said, was bought by Modi in September 2017 in an all-cash deal for $25 million. The agency is also likely to attach another property of Nirav Modi and his wife Ami in the US.
In its prosecution complaint, the ED has alleged that of the Rs 6,498.20 crore that he swindled from PNB using fraudulent letters of undertaking (LoUs), Modi laundered over Rs 4,000 crore abroad. Modi had allegedly floated several dummy companies to move his money and even involved members of his extended family for this purpose.
“Since he has invested the proceeds of crime that he swindled out of PNB abroad, we have a case for attachment of his assets in foreign countries. Orders to this effect will be issued soon,” an ED official said.
The ED has already attached assets to the tune of Rs 1,400 crore (value of assets post professional valuation) belonging to Modi in the form of diamonds and jewellery in his various stores and special economic zones, his luxury cars and 21 properties apart from other investments.
The Indian Express had earlier reported that the ED had found that Modi had floated over 15 shell companies and had at least 17 dummy directors. These dummy directors were either employees or ex-employees of Modi’s firms who earned salaries of Rs 8,000 to Rs 30,000 per month for their services.
The ED has alleged that Nirav’s brother Nehal had helped in destroying a lot of evidence in the case and handled several accounts of the Nirav Modi business.
Apart from this, the agency has also alleged that Nirav Modi’s sister Purvi Modi was a “beneficiary” of the fraudulent LoU funds and also helped Modi in “layering and integration” of the money into the “main financial system through acquisition of properties or through investment in financial assets”.
ED sources said that some of the properties being attached include those belonging to Modi’s family members.
The ED chargesheet has also accused Modi’s father, Deepak Modi, of assisting him in money laundering. The agency said Deepak Modi “is a beneficiary of Link High International and Twin Square companies, in which funds of around $50-55 million were transferred” from dummy companies of Nirav Modi.
Nirav, his wife Ami (a US citizen), brother Neeshal (a Belgian national) and uncle Choksi, promoter of the Gitanjali Group, fled the country in January, weeks before the scam was reported by PNB. While Nirav Modi is in the UK, Choksi is learnt to be in Antigua and Barbuda.
Sources said that the agency has identified at least three properties, likely to be valued at over Rs 150 crore, and may issue orders anytime next week. These orders will then be sent to the concerned country through letters rogatory (LR), which is a request for assistance by a competent court. Based on the LR, concerned agencies in the US will be expected to execute the attachment orders.
According to sources, the ED is planning to attach Nirav Modi’s personal residence in New York named Essex House located at 160, Central Park South. Modi bought this house in 2007 for $5 million through a limited liability company CPRE and on December 29, 2017, a few weeks before the scam at PNB broke, he transferred the ownership of the house to Ithaca Trust for $6 million. The ultimate beneficiary of this trust is the family of Nirav Modi, sources said.
The agency is also looking to attach Modi’s luxury apartment at Ritz Carlton at 50, South Central Park in the US. This property, sources said, was bought by Modi in September 2017 in an all-cash deal for $25 million. The agency is also likely to attach another property of Nirav Modi and his wife Ami in the US.
In its prosecution complaint, the ED has alleged that of the Rs 6,498.20 crore that he swindled from PNB using fraudulent letters of undertaking (LoUs), Modi laundered over Rs 4,000 crore abroad. Modi had allegedly floated several dummy companies to move his money and even involved members of his extended family for this purpose.
“Since he has invested the proceeds of crime that he swindled out of PNB abroad, we have a case for attachment of his assets in foreign countries. Orders to this effect will be issued soon,” an ED official said.
The ED has already attached assets to the tune of Rs 1,400 crore (value of assets post professional valuation) belonging to Modi in the form of diamonds and jewellery in his various stores and special economic zones, his luxury cars and 21 properties apart from other investments.
The Indian Express had earlier reported that the ED had found that Modi had floated over 15 shell companies and had at least 17 dummy directors. These dummy directors were either employees or ex-employees of Modi’s firms who earned salaries of Rs 8,000 to Rs 30,000 per month for their services.
The ED has alleged that Nirav’s brother Nehal had helped in destroying a lot of evidence in the case and handled several accounts of the Nirav Modi business.
Apart from this, the agency has also alleged that Nirav Modi’s sister Purvi Modi was a “beneficiary” of the fraudulent LoU funds and also helped Modi in “layering and integration” of the money into the “main financial system through acquisition of properties or through investment in financial assets”.
ED sources said that some of the properties being attached include those belonging to Modi’s family members.
The ED chargesheet has also accused Modi’s father, Deepak Modi, of assisting him in money laundering. The agency said Deepak Modi “is a beneficiary of Link High International and Twin Square companies, in which funds of around $50-55 million were transferred” from dummy companies of Nirav Modi.
Nirav, his wife Ami (a US citizen), brother Neeshal (a Belgian national) and uncle Choksi, promoter of the Gitanjali Group, fled the country in January, weeks before the scam was reported by PNB. While Nirav Modi is in the UK, Choksi is learnt to be in Antigua and Barbuda.