We Cannot Release Money Of Nirav Modi’s Firm: Banks To Court in 2023
Official Liquidator filed an affidavit claiming that the three banks had yet to pay £37 crore from Nirava's company account to pay off the debt.
Reportedly, the two banks told the PMLA special court about Nirav Modi‘s firm that they could not release the money from the company’s accounts. The lender said the money was in Nirav Modi’s Firestar International Limited account. Official Liquidator filed an affidavit claiming that the three banks had yet to pay £37 crore from Nirav Modi’s company account to pay off the debt. The National Companies Tribunal appointed a liquidator. According to a written application filed in October 2022, the company had a £2 deposit, 67 crores from Kotak Mahindra Bank, 17.98 crores from Union Bank of India, and 16.32 crores from Bank of Maharashtra.
Nirav Modi’s PNB Fraud Case
Nirav Modi is a Belgian businessman and fugitive who has been charged by the Government and the Interpol of India with criminal conspiracy, breach of trust, fraud, and dishonesty including transfer of property, corruption, money laundering, and fraud. Modi is under investigation for a $2 billion fraud with the Punjab National Bank (PNB). In March 2018, Modi filed for bankruptcy protection in Manhattan, New York. In June 2018, Modi reportedly sought political asylum while staying in the UK. Last August, a court under the Anti-Money Laundering Act (PMLA) ordered banks to release money in favor of liquidators.
However, the affidavit stated that the bank was unable to pay the money.
Kotak Mahindra Bank said that the company’s accounts were initially seized by the Income Tax Department and seized by the Executive Office a day later. Authorities are investigating money laundering allegations against Modi and his Firestar group of companies.
“I had no choice but to pay (from a company account) because donations are legally required and failure to pay could have serious consequences”, said Kotak Mahindra Bank’s official. However, the Bank of Maharashtra told HT that the company’s loan balance had been adjusted against the loan account.
Deal with Union Bank of India
Union Bank of India sued Modi in the Hong Kong Court. It said it had guaranteed two loans from Firestone Trading Private on the 15th and Firestar Diamond on the 15 November 2011. The bank demanded payment of more than $5.49 million plus interest after the two companies allegedly defaulted on their payment obligations.
2018 Investigations and Litigation (PNB Fraud Case)
CBI opened an investigation in February 2018 on Modi following a complaint by the Punjab National Bank. While ₹28,000 crore is the alleged fraud so far, the potential loss to Punjab National Bank is said to be as high as ₹11,000 crores. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is investigating the fraud case registered against him by the CBI. Several of Modi’s stores initially remained open as usual, including the store at Marina Bay Sands in Singapore, but all of them gradually closed down.
Modi bought a sea view property with his wife, Ami Modi, for Rs 900 crore in the coveted Samudra Mahal Real Estate in Mumbai. His assets in India, including jewelry, paintings, and real estate, worth about 523 million rupees, have been noted by the ED.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has attached four wind farms owned by Modi in Rajasthan with a total capacity of 9.6 megawatts (MW). These wind farms have been operational since 2014–15. In May 2018, CBI and ED registered two FIRs each to investigate the case. Both Choksi and Modi had left the country before criminal proceedings were initiated against them. With the collapse of his brand, Nirav Modi’s fortunes collapsed. Forbes removed him from its annual list of billionaires and, on March 9, 2018, estimated his current net worth to be less than $100 million.
In April 2018, it was claimed that Nirav Modi had found a haven in Hong Kong, but then he was reported to have sought asylum in the United Kingdom, claiming to be the victim of “political persecution” and denying any wrongdoing. In March 2019, Modi was spotted in the United Kingdom by The Telegraph. He was said to be living in an £ 8 million flat. Indian authorities responded to the news by saying that an extradition request to the UK had been lodged. Indian tax authorities raised $8 million by auctioning off part of his art collection. All of his bail applications have been rejected.
On 8 June 2020, a court under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) ordered the confiscation of his assets worth nearly 1,400 rupees. On 25 February 2021, a UK court granted the Indian government’s request that Modi is transferred to the nation as an accused in the PNB case. The British Home Secretary signed the extradition order on April 15, the next step to clear the way for his deportation to India. An extradition request can take months, while Nirav Modi remains incarcerated in Wandsworth Prison in southwest London. On 23 June 2021, the UK High Court rejected Modi’s appeal against his extradition to India.
In December 2022, the Royal Court of Justice in London refused Nirav Modi’s leave to appeal to the UK High Court against the UK Home Secretary’s April 2021 order ordering his extradition to India and ordered him to pay £150,247 in legal fees.
Edited by Prakriti Arora
