ED attaches Nirav Modi's foreign assets worth Rs 637 cr
New Delhi, Oct 1: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) said on Monday it has attached foreign properties of fugitive diamond jeweller Nirav Modi worth Rs 637 crore in its ongoing investigation into the Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud.
A senior ED official said that the financial probe agency has been working in close coordination with other foreign agencies in order to identify and attach foreign properties of Nirav Modi kept secret at various international locations.
The attached properties were in the form of jewellery, bank accounts and immovable properties.
The official also said that it has brought diamond jewellery worth Rs 22.69 crore back to India from Hong Kong.
According to the ED, a stock of jewellery was exported to Hong Kong after a case was registered against Nirav Modi by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in January.
This was kept in a vault of a private company in Hong Kong on behalf of Nirav Modi.
"The agency contacted the company and its London headquarters and after much persuasion and follow up, it successfully brought back the jewellery to India," the official said.
He also said that the stock value of the jewellery was around Rs 85 crore and the jewellery was sent to Hong Kong by Firestar Group of Companies. On independent valuation, the value of jewellery came to Rs 22.69 crore.
The ED has also attached a flat in south Mumbai worth Rs 19.5 crore which was on the name of Nirav Modi's sister Purvi, who is a Belgian national.
The official said that the flat was purchased by Purvi in 2017 and the deed was signed by Nirav modi's brother Neeshal, who is also a Belgian national and who held a power of attorney.
"But the consideration of the flat was paid by Purvi through her Barclays Bank account maintained in Singapore," the official said.
Meanwhile, the agency also attached five bank accounts containing over Rs 278 crore, belonging to Nirav Modi, Purvi and others in the case.
Interpol has issued an RCN against Nirav Modi, Neeshal, Purvi and his executive Subhash Parab.
Interpol on Monday on the request of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and ED issued a Red Corner Notice (RCN) against Nirav Modi's trusted official Aditya Nanavati in the PNB fraud.
According to CBI sources, Nanavati's links with Neeshal have been found.
Nanavati used to head the operations of the Firestar Diamond's business in Hong Kong. It is learnt that he was also in Belgium.
Nirav Modi and his uncle Mehul Choksi of Gitanjali Group are under probe by both the CBI and ED. The ED had on May 24 and 26 filed the charge-sheets against both.
Non-bailable warrants have been issued against them.
Nirav Modi left India along with his family in the first week of January, before the scam was reported to the CBI.
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NATO, others turn down US call for help in Hormuz: Trump
Washington (PTI): President Donald Trump on Tuesday said NATO and most of US' other allies have rejected his calls to help secure the Strait of Hormuz as the war with Iran entered the third week.
In a social media post, Trump asserted that Iran’s military has been “decimated” and he no longer felt the need for assistance from NATO countries or anyone else.
Last week, Trump had sought help from European nations and others who depend on oil supplies transiting from the Hormuz Strait to safeguard the critical waterway.
“The United States has been informed by most of our NATO “Allies” that they don’t want to get involved with our Military Operation against the Terrorist Regime of Iran, in the Middle East, this, despite the fact that almost every Country strongly agreed with what we are doing, and that Iran cannot, in any way, shape, or form, be allowed to have a Nuclear Weapon,” the US President said in a post on Truth Social.
Iran's attacks on Gulf nations and its grip on the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world's oil is transported, have sparked increasing concerns of a global energy crisis and are unnerving the world economy.
“I am not surprised by their action, however, because I always considered NATO, where we spend Hundreds of Billions of Dollars per year protecting these same Countries, to be a one-way street — We will protect them, but they will do nothing for us, in particular, in a time of need,” Trump said.
He said Australia, Japan and South Korea too have turned down his call for help.
“Fortunately, we have decimated Iran’s Military – Their Navy is gone, their Air Force is gone, their Anti-Aircraft and Radar is gone and perhaps, most importantly, their Leaders, at virtually every level, are gone, never to threaten us, our Middle Eastern Allies, or the World, again,” Trump said.
He said that given the scale of recent military successes, the US no longer "need" or desires assistance from NATO countries, adding that it never relied on such support in the first place.
Speaking as President of the United States, the "most powerful" country in the world, "we do not need" help from anyone, Trump said.
The West Asia conflict began on February 28 when the US-Israeli combine conducted airstrikes on Iran.
The Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway that connects the Persian Gulf to the open ocean, has effectively been shut following the US and Israel attack on Iran and Tehran's sweeping retaliation.
However, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi had said that from Tehran's "perspective", the strait is "open". "It is only closed to Iran's enemies, to those who carried out unjust aggression against our country and to their allies.”
Earlier in the day, a second Indian-flagged LPG tanker, Nanda Devi, reached the country after safely sailing from the war-hit Strait of Hormuz. On Monday, the first ship, Shivalik, reached Mundra port in Gujarat.
As of now, 22 Indian vessels remain on the west side and two on the east side of the strait.
Indian authorities are in constant touch with all the relevant stakeholders in the region to secure the safe passage of the remaining ships, officials said.
