The case goes back to 2014, where the diamond merchant had pleaded guilty, though indirectly, for mis-declaration of exports of diamonds.
A court in Mumbai has issued a non-bailable warrant against diamantaire Mehul Choksi in the Canara Bank-led consortium loan fraud case involving about Rs 55 crore. Choksi, a prime accused in the multi-million dollar Punjab National Bank (PNB) 'fraud', was arrested in Belgium on April 12 following an extradition request by Indian probe agencies.
If the absconding jeweller is traced in Britain, the extradition request to the UK government could follow a similar course as the case of embattled liquor tycoon Vijay Mallya
The legal procedure of extradition of an accused takes its own time and Indian investigators, both from the CBI and ED, are tracking the case.
The bench also said there was merit in ED's contention that while the "driving force behind the companies" (Modi) was not submitting to the agency's jurisdiction, his companies cannot be given any discretionary relief.
The agency has so far seized diamonds, gold jewellery and other precious stones worth Rs 5,716 crore in the case and summoned Modi and Choksi, the promoter of Gitanjali Gems, to appear before it on February 23 at its Mubai zonal office.
Modi, 46, who had figured in the Forbes' list of richest Indians, has been named in the cheating case on a complaint from the PNB, which alleged that the jewellery firm owner, his brother, wife and Choksi entered into a criminal conspiracy with the officials of the bank and cheated it, causing a "wrongful loss".
Building a global brand was Choksi's idea, which Modi borrowed from him.
As many as 17 locations in Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Jaipur and Surat were raided by the ED.
Only 40 per cent of the forensic information required was made available by PNB and as such, there is no way that one can put a cap on the total value of LoUs issued. He is the second Indian to be declared a fugitive economic offender, after liquor baron Vijay Mallya.
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Officials said they have put freeze orders on bank accounts containing Rs 30 crore and shares worth Rs 13.86 crore of the group.
Fugitive diamond merchant Nirav Modi, wanted in India in connection with the estimated $2-billion Punjab National Bank (PNB) scam case, was on Tuesday further remanded in custody until January 7 by a UK court hearing his extradition case. The 49-year-old businessman, who has been behind bars at Wandsworth Prison in south-west London since his arrest last year following India's extradition request for him, appeared via videolink for a routine 28-day remand hearing on Tuesday before Westminster Magistrates' Court in London. The final hearings in the extradition case are scheduled over two days, on January 7 and 8 next year, when District Judge Samuel Goozee is scheduled to hear closing arguments from both sides before he hands down his judgment a few weeks later.
The Reserve Bank of India also banned with immediate effect issuance of letters of comfort which, like LoUs, are used by importers to fund their overseas purchases.
While PNB did not name the other lenders, Union Bank of India, Allahabad Bank and Axis Bank are said to have offered credit based on letters of undertaking (LOUs) issued by PNB. Foreign bank branches too are under investigation.
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Justice Ingrid Simler at the Royal Courts of Justice in London concluded the hearing and said as the matter was of "some importance", she would take some time to consider it and hand down her ruling on Wednesday.
Following the arrest of fugitive businessman Mehul Choksi by Belgian authorities on Saturday, Vaibhav Khuraniya, one of the complainants in a fraud case against Choksi, said that it may not be easy to bring him back to India due to legal complexities involved in extradition.
The five-day extradition trial of fugitive diamond merchant Nirav Modi will begin from May 11 in a part-remote setting, a UK court has ordered. Modi is fighting his extradition to India over the nearly USD 2 billion Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud and money laundering case.
CBI has registered a case against general secretary of Mumbai BJP Mohit Kamboj, his jewellery manufacturing firm Avyaan Overseas, its directors, few mid-level bankers and others for alleged diversion of funds by availing fraudulent foreign bills negotiation limit and export packaging credit limit, issued by lender Bank of India between 2013 and 2018.
The 49-year-old jeweller, fighting extradition in the estimated $2-billion Punjab National Bank (PNB) scam case, will appear via videolink from Wandsworth Prison in south-west London for the latest hearing in the case, during which District Judge Samuel Goozee will hear his defence team's arguments against the admissibility of certain evidence provided by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Enforcement Directorate (ED) in order to establish a prima facie case against the accused.
Nirav Modi, wanted in connection with the estimated $2-billion Punjab National Bank (PNB) scam case, was further remanded in custody on Tuesday by a court in London hearing India's extradition request for the diamond merchant. The 49-year-old appeared on Tuesday via videolink from Wandsworth Prison in south-west London, dressed in a maroon sweater and sporting a full beard, for his regular 28-day "call-over hearing" at Westminster Magistrates' Court, where Chief Magistrate Emma Arbuthnot extended his remand for another 28 days until December 29.
'Four weeks have passed after the scam was exposed, yet no big guy has been arrested.' 'This gives the impression that he wants to be soft on the biggies.'
A UK judge presiding over the extradition proceedings of Nirav Modi on Tuesday ruled that the evidence submitted by the Indian authorities to establish a prima facie case of fraud and money laundering against the fugitive diamantaire is broadly admissible. District Judge Samuel Goozee heard the arguments for and against the admissibility of certain witness statements provided by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Enforcement Directorate (ED) at Westminster Magistrates' Court in London and concluded that he considered himself "bound" by the previous UK court rulings in the extradition case of former Kingfisher Airlines chief Vijay Mallya. He then adjourned the case for a two-day hearing on January 7 and 8 next year, when he will hear the final submissions in the case before he hands down his judgment a few weeks later.
Frozen mutual funds and shares worth Rs 86.72 crore belong to Choksi and his group, and the rest are owned by the Modi group.
India is working closely with Belgium to extradite fugitive diamantaire Mehul Choksi, who was arrested in Antwerp on Saturday based on a formal request from the Indian government. Choksi is wanted by Indian probe agencies in connection with a Rs 13,500-crore bank loan fraud case involving the Punjab National Bank (PNB). His nephew, Nirav Modi, is also facing extradition proceedings in the UK.
In her judgment handed down at the Royal Courts of Justice in London, Justice Ingrid Simler concluded there are "substantial grounds" to believe that the 48-year-old fugitive diamantaire would fail to surrender as he does possess the means to "abscond".
The billionaire jeweller, who has fled the country, in the letter also disagreed with the loan default amount of Rs 11,400 crore and pegged the amount his companies owe to the bank at under Rs 5,000 crore.
Choksi, along with his nephew and millionaire designer jeweller Nirav Modi, is being investigated by the ED for allegedly defrauding PNB, the country's second largest lender.
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A quick computation puts the following value to the seizures.
Nultiple regulators are probing the nexus of scamsters with diamonds after a state-run bank got defrauded of $1.8 billion by designer jeweller Nirav Modi.
Three-four big gem and jewellery firms are showing financial weaknesses and might find it tough to withstand shocks
The Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday continued raids for the seventh day as it visited 17 locations across the country, including four shell companies in Mumbai, even as the Income Tax department attached assets worth Rs 145 crore in the alleged Rs 11,400-crore Punjab National Bank fraud.
The ED conducted further searches at 21 locations across India.
There was a massive 24% decline in India's gems and jewelry exports to $2,321 million for September 2018 as against $3,053.38 million in the same period last year.
It further asked the government to make suitable arrangements for smooth functioning of the bank.
The industry alleges the government has been apathetic, despite their pleas for quick action. However, H2 may be different as The US-China trade war had opened a window for Indian exporters to ship more to America.
In all, 292 allegedly fraudulent LoUs and 224 foreign letters of credit were generated and money sanctioned to Nirav Modi's companies since 2011
Gitanjali Gems and Firestar Diamonds together account for 5.8 per cent of the diamond and jewellery trade in India.
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