ED chargesheet names Nirav Modi's wife Ami Modi in PNB scam

Ami Modi, wife of fugitive diamantaire Nirav Modi, who is accused of defrauding the state-owned Punjab National Bank (PNB) with over Rs 13,700 crore, has been named as an accused by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in multi-billion PNB fraud case.

According to India Today report, the ED has filed a supplementary charge-sheet in the Punjab National Bank fraud case, naming Ami Modi, the wife of Nirav Modi, as an accused in the case in a special Mumbai court. 

Ami Modi has been charged for her alleged involvement in laundering proceeds from funds obtained fraudulently from PNB through LOUs to purchase a flat at Central Park, New York for 30 million USD.

The laundered amount is close to 30 million dollars and was routed through Ami's HSBC bank accounts which were traced by the agency, according to the report. The charge-sheet was filed by the agency on February 28, a source told India Today.

Tightening the noose around the absconding diamantaire Nirav Modi, who was recently traced down to London where he has reportedly been living a luxurious life in high-end Oxford street, the ED has filed a supplementary charge-sheet in connection with PNB fraud case. He was spotted on the streets of London wearing a jacket made from "ostrich hide".

Also Read: Sneak peak into Nirav Modi's swanky life! Fugitive wears Rs 9 lakh 'Ostrich leather' jacket, lives in Rs 72 crore house

The ED may have seized his assets worth over Rs 6,500 crore in India, but the economic offender still seems to have a large sum of cash left to burn. This is evident from the fact that Nirav Modi, when he was spotted on the streets of London, was wearing a jacket made from "ostrich hide", which cost no less than Rs 10,000 pounds (over Rs 9 lakh).

This charge-sheet will be part of documents which the agency will be sharing with to UK authorities to get Nirav Modi extradited from London.

Last week, the UK Home Secretary's office moved the extradition file of diamond merchant to the Westminster Court in London, finding his case "fit for extradition". His extradition case will now be further evaluated by the court and a provisional arrest warrant against Nirav Modi may be issued. However, strict civilian laws in the UK might allow him to get bail instantly. A request for the extradition of Nirav Modi to India was sent in July 2018.

Nirav Modi along with his uncle and partner Mehul Choksi left the country last year before the CBI started investigating the PNB scam.

Last week, the UK Home Secretary's office moved the extradition file of diamond merchant to the Westminster Court in London, finding his case "fit for extradition". His extradition case will now be further evaluated by the court, which might issue a provisional arrest warrant against Nirav Modi soon. However, strict civilian laws in the UK might allow him to get bail instantly. A request for the extradition of Nirav Modi to India was sent in July 2018.

According to sources within the agency, the ED in its charge-sheet has said that Nirav Modi owned firms namely M/s. Diamond R US, M/s. Solar Exports and M/s Stellar Diamond, Surathave, got fraudulently issued Letters of Undertaking aggregating to USD 1015.35 million during the period from Feb 2011 to May, 2017 from PNB, Mumbai.

Nirav Modi along with his uncle and partner Mehul Choksi left the country last year before the CBI started investigating the PNB scam.

Also Read: Nirav Modi case: Fresh charge sheet filed; ED, CBI teams to leave for London

Edited by Chitranjan Kumar