Beijing, Sep 27 : The Union Bank of India has sued fugitive billionaire jeweller Nirav Modi in a Hong Kong court, a media report said.

A report in the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post said the Union Bank claimed in a writ filed at the High Court on Wednesday that the Mumbai-born businessman, wanted for a massive financial scam in India, guaranteed two loans made to Firestone Trading Private on October 21, 2011 and Firestar Diamond on November 15, 2011.

The bank is demanding that Nirav Modi - who owns a chain of jewellery shops from Hong Kong to New York and whose celebrity clients have included actresses Naomi Watts and Kate Winslet - pay more than $5.49 million plus interest after both firms allegedly defaulted on repayments.

Nirav Modi, 47, has been on the run since February after Indian authorities launched an investigation into his alleged involvement in a Rs 13,600 crore (US$1.8 billion) scam against the Punjab National Bank (PNB), the country's second-largest state-run lender.





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Panaji (PTI): As part of a crackdown against tourist establishments violating laws and safety norms in the aftermath of the Arpora fire tragedy, Goa authorities on Saturday sealed a renowned club at Vagator and revoked the fire department NOC of another club.

Cafe CO2 Goa, located on a cliff overlooking the Arabian Sea at Vagator beach in North Goa, was sealed. The move came two days after Goya Club, also in Vagator, was shut down for alleged violations of rules.

Elsewhere, campaigning for local body polls, AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal said the fire incident at Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub at Arpora, which claimed 25 lives on December 6, happened because the BJP government in the state was corrupt.

An inspection of Cafe CO2 Goa by a state government-appointed team revealed that the establishment, with a seating capacity of 250, did not possess a no-objection certificate (NOC) of the Fire and Emergency Services Department. The club, which sits atop Ozrant Cliff, also did not have structural stability, the team found.

The Fire and Emergency Services on Saturday also revoked the NOC issued to Diaz Pool Club and Bar at Anjuna as the fire extinguishers installed in the establishment were found to be inadequate, said divisional fire officer Shripad Gawas.

A notice was issued to Nitin Wadhwa, the partner of the club, he said in the order.

Campaigning at Chimbel village near Panaji in support of his party's Zilla Panchayat election candidate, Aam Aadmi Party leader Kejriwal said the nightclub fire at Arpora happened because of the "corruption of the Pramod Sawant-led state government."

"Why this fire incident happened? I read in the newspapers that the nightclub had no occupancy certificate, no building licence, no excise licence, no construction licence or trade licence. The entire club was illegal but still it was going on," he said.

"How could it go on? Couldn't Pramod Sawant or anyone else see it? I was told that hafta (bribe) was being paid," the former Delhi chief minister said.

A person can not work without bribing officials in the coastal state, Kejriwal said, alleging that officers, MLAs and even ministers are accepting bribes.