Court Allows ED to Seize 39 Properties of Fugitive Nirav Modi, Including 22 Cars, Worth Rs 500 Crore

A special court under the Fugitive Economic Offenders (FEO) Act allowed the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to confiscate fugitive diamantaire Nirav Modi’s 39 properties worth ₹500 crores.

Additionally, nine properties worth Rs 424 crore mortgaged or hypothecated in the Punjab National Bank were also allowed to be seized by the bank, a Times of India report said.

The properties that the ED will confiscate include 12 immovable properties attached to the Rhythm House at Kalaghoda, consignments seized by agencies in transit, money parked in bank accounts outside the country, and valuables seized from Modi’s Alibaug bungalow including 22 cars.

In the first confiscation order under the FEO Act in 2020, the court had directed that the properties be attached by the ED. However, it had exempted properties secured to PNB and a consortium of banks either through mortgage, hypothecation or personal guarantee.

Modi was declared an FEO in December 2019.

In another development on Wednesday, the Supreme Court has asked the CBI and the ED to sit together within a week and share material with regard to the money transactions and disclosures made by Mainak Mehta, brother in-law of Modi.

A bench of Justices DY Chandrachud and Hima Kohli also asked Mainak Mehta to share with the CBI whatever relevant information he has on the bank accounts investigated by the probe agency.

The court said the CBI has flagged issues with regard to non-disclosure of transactions in bank accounts, including the one based in Singapore, two transactions of 8.9 million USD and 1.8 million USD transferred by the father of Nirav Modi. It said Mainak Mehta should share the details with the probe agency after which he may be considered for travelling abroad.

The bench said, “These are only bank details which you can give at any point of time. You want to travel abroad. Give the details and you can go. We don’t want to be stuck in the rigmarole.”

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