ED attaches Rs 30-crore assets of Nirav Modi in PNB fraud case

The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) has provisionally attached proceeds of crime in the form of immovable properties and bank balances amounting to Rs 29.75 crore belonging to diamantaire Nirav Modi in the Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud case.

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The ED initiated its investigation based on an FIR registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) under sections of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, and the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, related to the bank fraud worth Rs 6,498.20 crore.

During the course of the investigation, assets worth Rs 29.75 crore belonging to Nirav Modi and his group of companies were identified in India, including land, buildings, and amounts in bank accounts. These assets are being provisionally attached under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, according to ED sources.

In a previous PMLA probe, the ED had attached movable and immovable assets of Nirav Modi and his associates worth approximately Rs 2,596 crore, both in India and abroad. Additionally, movable and immovable assets amounting to Rs 692.90 crore were confiscated under the provisions of the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act (FEOA), 2018, by a Special Court in Mumbai.

Furthermore, assets worth Rs 1,052.42 crore have been successfully restored to the victim banks, including PNB and consortium banks.