CBI MAY SEEK RED CORNER NOTICE AGAINST NIRAV MODI, CHOKSI
The CBI is likely to approach Interpol for a Red Corner Notice against absconding billionaire jewellers Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi who are allegedly the brains behind the over $2 billion fraud in Punjab National Bank, agency sources said. Modi along with his wife Ami, a US citizen, brother Nishal a Belgian, and uncle Choksi, Gitanjali group’s promoter, had fled the country before the bank approached the CBI with a complaint against his companies for allegedly cheating through fraudulent issuance of Letters of Undertakings and Foreign Letters of Credit.
NEWDELHI: The CBI will now push for issuance of red notice by Interpol, against absconding diamond traders Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi, following filing of a charge sheet against each of them.
Red notice is basically an international alert on fugitives and when they are located in a member country, it informs the country which asked for issuance of notice, in this case, India. Till then fugitives are detained and then sent to the country where they are wanted.
Both Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi are accused of defrauding the Punjab National Bank (PNB) of over ₹13,000 crore in issuance of letters of undertaking (LoUs) and foreign letters of credit (FLCs).
“Normally issuance of a nonbailable warrant against a fugitive is enough for the Interpol to issue red notice against them but sometimes it waits till filing of formal charge sheet too. Now that the charge sheets have been filed against both of them, CBI will push for red notice against Nirav and Choksi,” said a CBI official familiar with the matter.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) which is probing case of money laundering against Nirav and Choksi, too has approached Interpol for issuance of Red Notice against the duo.
Modi along with his wife Ami, a US citizen, brother Neeshal and maternal uncle Choksi, Gitanjali group’s promoter, fled the country in the first week of January.
CBI had immediately issued a diffusion notice with the Interpol to track Modi and Choksi but their whereabouts remained unknown. In the meanwhile, the Centre approached Hong Kong as it suspected Nirav Modi’s presence there but investigators say Nirav is not in Hong Kong now.