Nirav Modi fails to keep ED date, gets fresh summons
Billionaire jewellery designer Nirav Modi on Thursday e-mailed the Enforcement Directorate (ED) that he could not appear before it for questioning as required because his passport has been suspended by the ministry of external affairs and he is busy in dealing with the fallout on his business of the multi-agency probe launched against him.
An ED official familiar with the matter said on condition of anonymity that Modi was summoned by the agency to appear at its Mumbai office on Thursday.
The official termed the email a “delaying tactic” . If Modi really wanted to cooperate with the probe he could have approached the nearest Indian embassy for issuance of a one-time emergency travel document to fly back to India, he added.
Nirav left India on January 1 and it isn’t clear where he is.
The Enforcement Directorate so far has seized assets worth Rs 5826 crore belonging to Modi and his maternal uncle Mehul Choksi who have been accused by the Punjab National Bank of perpetrating a fraud of ₹11,400 on the lender. The Central Bureau of Investigation and ED have both registered two cases each against Modi, Choksi and their associates.
ED on Thursday said in a statement that it has seized nine cars of Nirav Modi and his companies including a Rolls Royce Ghost, a Porsche Panamera, two MerTimes cedes Benz, a Toyota Fortuner, three Honda-made cars and an Innova.
The agency added that it also seized shares and mutual funds worth ₹7.8 crore of Nirav Modi and of ₹86.72 crore of Mehul Choksi who runs the Gitanjali Group of companies. ED searches are still on.
A person familiar with Modi’s legal strategy had told Hindustan previously that Modi is likely to write to ED, CBI and the ministry of external affairs (MEA) clarifying his position on returning to India. The MEA has suspended Modi’s passport for four weeks and issued him a notice asking why it should not be cancelled.
MEA on Thursday said it received a request to send notice (to Modi) to a particular email ID.
“Accordingly the notice was sent to the email id as requested,” said the ministry spokesperson.
CBI, which is probing the corruption aspect of the matter has so far arrested 12 people including six retired or serving PNB officials. The agency on Thursday questioned three deputy general manager level officials of PNB in Mumbai.