ED attaches Nirav family’s ₹52.80 cr wind farm assets

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has attached a ₹52.80 crore wind farm owned by Nirav Modi’s family in Rajasthan’s Jaisalmer in connection with its money laundering investigation into the over $2 billion PNB fraud case, the probe agency said on Wednesday.

The agency said it has issued a provisional order for attachment under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) for freezing the 9.6 MW-power capacity farm (consisting of multiple wind mills) that is “owned by” Ms Solar Exports, Ms Stellar Diamonds, Ms Diamond R US and Ms Neeshal Merchandising Private Limited. The first three firms are involved in the Punjab National Bank (PNB) alleged fraud case as they “got the Letters of Undertaking (LoU) issued fraudulently from the bank”, the ED said in a statement.

It said the market value of the asset is ₹52.80 crore. The central probe agency has attached Nirav Modi’s assets worth over ₹691 crore till now.

It also filed its first charge sheet, before a special court in Mumbai, against the diamantaire and his family on May 24 in the over $2 billion PNB fraud case stating that over ₹6,400 crore of bank funds were allegedly laundered abroad to dummy companies by him and others.

The ED had registered an FIR, called the Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR), in this case on February 14. The CBI had also filed two charge sheets in this case earlier this month.

Nirav Modi, who is absconding and has not joined the ED probe in the case till now, and others are being probed under various criminal laws after the fraud came to light this year following a complaint by the Punjab National Bank that they allegedly cheated the nationalised bank to the tune of over Rs 13,000 crore, with the purported involvement of a few employees of the bank.

Both Nirav Modi and his uncle Mehul Choksi are said to have left the country before criminal cases were lodged against them.

NEW DELHI: