Mumbai: The Bombay High Court on Wednesday refused to grant a stay on the auction of fugitive diamantaire Nirav Modi’s rare paintings to be held by the Enforcement Directorate on March 5. Modi’s son Rohin had approached the high court on Tuesday and filed a petition against the auction of 15 rare paintings by the ED, claiming that they belonged to Rohin Trust of which he is the beneficiary and not his father.
The division bench of justices BP Dharmadhikari and NR Borkar refused to grant a stay but directed the investigating agency to deposit the proceeds from the auction in a bank account pending the disposal of Rohin’s plea.
The ED informed the court that the paintings were bought when Rohin was a minor and were financed through the proceeds of crime raised through the fraud caused to Punjab National Bank and Nirav Modi’s wife Ami, who is a co-accused in the case, holds 90% stake in the trusts.
The auction includes paintings by MF Husain and Amrita Sher-Gil among others, apart from other items and collectibles such as luxury watches that include Jaeger-LeCoultre Men’s ‘Reverso Gyrotourbillon 2’ Limited Edition watch, Patek Phillipe ‘Nautilus’ Gold and Diamond watch, handbags by Birkin and Kelly and a Rolls Royce car. A total of 112 possessions are being auctioned. While online auctions are ongoing, on Thursday evening, live auction will take place at Saffron Art in Prabhadevi, Mumbai, on behalf of the ED.
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