PNB fraud: ED attaches Nirav Modi's properties worth Rs 171 cr
New Delhi, May 21: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Monday said that it has attached more properties of the absconding diamantaire Nirav Modi worth Rs 171 crore as part of its probe in the multi-crore Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud.
"During further investigation, more properties and bank accounts beneficially owned by Nirav Modi were unearthed.
"And based on the bank statements, property documents and statements recorded of the concerned persons, under sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002 and the money trail derived during the course of investigation properties worth Rs 171. 26 crore in the form of movable and immovable properties has been provisionally attached," an ED official said here.
The official said that the attached properties includes four commercial premises in Mumbai and Surat (with present market value worth Rs 72.87 crore), 106 bank accounts (with account balance of Rs 55.12 crore), 15 demat accounts (with Rs 35.86 crore) and 11 cars valued at Rs 4.01 crore.
The financial probe agency's action comes after it registered a separate case against the diamond jeweller and his uncle Mehul Choksi of the Gitanjali Group for defrauding the banks to the tune of Rs 14,500 crore.
Till date, the ED has carried out searches at over 251 properties across the country and seized diamond, gold, precious and semi-precious stones, and pearls.
The ED has also attached immovable properties belonging to Nirav Modi Group and Mehul Choksi group to the tune of Rs 7,638 crore.
The fraud was committed during 2011-17 by illegally issuing Letters of Undertaking (LoUs) and Foreign Letters of Credit (FLCs).
Choksi, Nirav Modi and his family fled in January around a month before the PNB filed first complaint against them about the fraud and they are still at large.
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UP: Misled by GPS navigation, car falls into river from partially constructed bridge, 3 dead
Bareilly (UP), Nov 24: Three people died when their car fell into the Ramganga river from a partially constructed bridge here on Sunday, police said, adding that they suspect the driver was misled by its navigation system into taking the unsafe route.
The accident occurred around 10 am on the Khalpur-Dataganj road when the victims were travelling from Bareilly to Dataganj in the Badaun district, they said.
"Earlier this year, floods had caused the front portion of the bridge to collapse into the river, but this change had not been updated in the system," Circle Officer Ashutosh Shivam said.
The driver was using a navigation system and did not realise that the bridge was unsafe, driving the car off the damaged section, the police said.
There were no safety barriers or warning signs on the approach to the damaged bridge, leading to the fatal accident, Shivam said.
Upon receiving information, police teams from Faridpur, Bareilly and Dataganj police station rushed to the spot. They recovered the vehicle and the bodies from the river, Shivam added.
The circle officer said that bodies had been sent for post-mortem. Further investigation into the matter is underway.
— Bareilly Police (@bareillypolice) November 24, 2024
