The first case was registered by the CBI on January 31 and a lookout notice issued against the star diamond jewellery designer counted among India’s richest.
NEW DELHI: Two bankers and a top official in celebrity designer Nirav Modi’s company seen to be at the centre of a massive Rs. 11,300 crore bank fraud have been arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation.
The Enforcement Directorate, which has seized over 5,600 crores worth of diamonds, jewellery and gold, is continuing the searches at showrooms and offices linked to firms run by Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi.
The PNB fraud was revealed in mid-January when Nirav Modi’s companies sought a fresh loan in early January. The officials who had helped them earlier had retired and when the bank insisted on guarantees, the companies allegedly said they had used the facility before.
CBI sources say they feel that PNB has been economical with truth in blaming just two employees for the entire Rs11,300 crore scam. Thus they are questioning three other employees who are not mentioned in the FIR.
Union Education Minister Prakash Javadekar counted the foreign ministry suspending Nirav Modi’s passport as evidence of the strong action being taken by the government.
Searches were conducted at 26 different premises related to Mehul Choksi, Gitanjali Group of companies and other directors of the companies. It includes factories, plants, offices and residencies of the above. These raids are on in six cities of 5 states, including Mumbai, Pune, Surat, Jaipur, Hyderabad and Coimbatore.
