Court rules to confiscate assets from Nirav Modi worth Rs 1,400 crore

By

Isabelle Crossley

Published
Jun 9, 2020

A Prevention of Money Laundering Act court has ruled to confiscate property worth Rs 1,400 crore ($189.52 million) from Nirav Modi, as the jewellery tycoon accused of fraud remains held in a UK jail. 

 
In a landmark ruling, a PMLA court ordered the confiscation of property from Modi, who has been officially labelled a Fugitive Economic Offender by Indian authorities. The court instructed the Enforcement Directorate to attach Modi’s property to be confiscated, apart from property already claimed by lenders, ET Bureau reported.
 
“Properties of respondent [Nirav Modi] excluding the properties claimed by lenders which are only secured by mortgage, hypothecation and guarantee and to the extent of valuable paintings seized by income tax department shall be attached by applicant [ED] under the provisions of FEO Act within a month and after attachment thereof, the said properties shall stand confiscated to Central Government,” the PMLA court said, according to documents accessed by the Economic Times.

Property to be confiscated can include offshore property, paintings, and jewellery. Modi is accused, along with his uncle and fellow jeweller, Mehul Choksi, of fraud at the Punjab National Bank totalling over Rs 13,500 crore, in one of the largest scale alleged frauds in India’s banking history.
 
Modi is currently being held in Wandsworth Prison outside of London, UK where he has remained since his arrest in London over a year ago.

Modi’s extradition trial was scheduled to take place in May. After starting the hearing remotely during the UK’s lockdown, new evidence saw it postponed to September, 2020. Indian authorities hope to extradite Modi to India to stand trial.