The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has brought back diamonds and pearls worth Rs 1,350 crore from Hong Kong belonging to diamantaire Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi in connection with Rs 13,000 crore Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud case. According to ED, the 108 consignments of UAE and Hong Kong entities of Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi were brought back on Wednesday from Hong Kong.
Nirav Modi is in London jail, while his uncle Mehul Choksi is hiding in Antigua. Extradition proceedings against both accused have been initiated by the Indian investigative agencies.
The financial probe agency claims that the valuables brought from Hong Kong include polished diamonds, pearls, pearl and silver jewellery etc. These were kept in the godown of a logistics company in Hong Kong. The consignments were brought back to Mumbai today and the weigh around 2,340 Kg.
"These consignments had been sent to Hong Kong from Dubai in early 2018 and the officers of the Enforcement Directorate had received intelligence input about these valuables in July 2018. The officers were continuously engaged in discussion with various authorities in Hong Kong to bring these valuables back to India," said the agency.
After finalising various modalities and legal formalities, these consignments were dispatched from Hong Kong which reached India today.
India Today has learnt that out of 108 consignments, 32 consignments belong to the entities controlled by Nirav Modi, while rest belong to entities controlled by Mehul Choksi.
Earlier, ED had successfully brought back 33 consignments of valuables from Dubai and Hong Kong in cases against Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi. These valuables were valued on arrival and were subsequently seized in India. Independent valuers assessed the earlier consignments to be worth around Rs 137 crore.
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