ED considers naming Nirav Modi's wife Ami in PNB fraud case

By

Isabelle Crossley

Published
Oct 4, 2018

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) may name fugitive jeweller Nirav Modi’s wife Ami Modi in the alleged case of fraud at the Punjab National Bank (PNB) for the first time since beginning its investigation.

Officials told TNN that the ED may name Ami Modi as an accused in the PNB money laundering case. The ED believes that, out of the Rs 6,400 ($962 million) Nirav Modi is accused of fraudulently obtaining from the PNB, Modi used $30 million to purchase two apartments in the U.S. for his wife.

Modi purchased two apartments and then transferred them to the Ithaca Trust of which Ami Modi is the beneficiary. Therefore, the ED maintains that Modi bought them for his wife. This is the first time that the ED and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is mentioning Ami Modi in its investigation.

Media outlets, including the Free Press Journal, the Live Mirror, and Tatkal News, are reporting rumours that Nirav Modi will divorce his wife in order to protect her from culpability in the scandal and to divert a lot of his money to her and their three children in alimony. However, the news remains speculation for now as Modi’s lawyer Vijay Aggarwal said that he has been given instructions by his client not to comment.

Modi’s brother and sister have been requested to appear alongside him in court and appear on the ED’s charge sheet. As Modi and his family remain outside of India, the main goal of the investigation has become extraditing Modi and his uncle Mehul Choksi, who is also implicated in the scandal with his businesses that include Gitanjali Gems.