Reportedly, Nirav Modi is in London on a Singaporean passport while his brother Nishal Modi was in Antwerp on a Belgian passport.
Nirav Modi (Photo: Twitter)
Fugitive billionaire jeweller Nirav Modi, the prime accused in the Punjab National Bank fraud case, is currently believed to be in the UK and has sought political asylum, it is learnt.
According to a report in the Financial Times, the businessman is supposedly in London trying to claim asylum to escape what he calls “political persecution”. The report said the Indian government was currently waiting for the law enforcement agencies to approach them after which they would be able to push for Modi’s extradition.
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Nirav Modi, who is absconding and has not joined the ED probe in the case till now, is being probed under various criminal laws after the fraud came to light earlier this year following a complaint by PNB that Modi and others allegedly cheated the nationalised bank to the tune of over Rs 13,000 crore, with purported involvement of a few employees of the bank.
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Also Read | PNB fraud: ED files charge sheet against Nirav Modi, associates
Earlier, it was reported that Nirav Modi was in London on a Singaporean passport while his brother Nishal Modi was in Antwerp on a Belgian passport.
The PNB fraud was committed between 2011 and 2017 as the accused allegedly acquired illegally issued Letters of Undertaking (LoUs) and Foreign Letters of Credit (FLCs).
The alleged banking fraud was committed by the diamond merchant, his group of companies — Diamond R US, Solar Exports and Stellar Diamonds — along with his uncle Mehul Choksi and others.
The ED last month filed its first chargesheet in the case saying about 12,000-page chargesheet or the prosecution complaint has been filed before a special court in Mumbai under various sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
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