The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has attached proceeds of crime in the form of immovable properties and bank balances amounting to Rs 29.75 crore in the case of Rs 6,498.20 crore Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud by fugitive Nirav Modi, the agency said on Wednesday. ED's Mumbai Zonal office attached the properties.
ED initiated an investigation based on the First Information Report (FIR) registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) under sections of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, and the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 in the case.
Assets attached worth Rs 29.75 crore
During the investigation, assets worth Rs 29.75 crore of Nirav Modi and his group of companies lying in India were identified in the form of land and buildings and amounts lying in bank accounts, which are being provisionally attached under PMLA, 2002.
During PMLA investigation, earlier ED had attached movable and immovable assets of Nirav Modi and associates to the tune of around Rs 2,596 crore in India and abroad.
Furthermore, movable and immovable assets of Nirav Modi and his associates amounting to Rs 692.90 crore, have been confiscated under provisions of Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, 2018 by Special Court, Mumbai.
Assets worth Rs 1052.42 successfully restored
Also, assets to the tune of Rs 1052.42 crore have been successfully restored to the victim banks, such as PNB and consortium banks, and such assets were physically handed over.
Earlier in this case, prosecution complaint and supplementary prosecution complaint under PMLA, 2002, have already been filed by the ED against Nirav Modi and associated entities before the Special Court (PMLA).
Extradition proceedings initiated
Simultaneously, the extradition proceedings against arrested fugitive, Nirav Modi, were initiated and are under progress in London, UK.
Earlier this year, Nirav Modi applied for bail in the UK Court, and his bail was denied for the seventh time by the UK Court. An appeal was filed by Nirav Modi before the UK High Court against the bail order, which was later withdrawn. Currently, he is lodged in a UK jail
