Published
Oct 2, 2018
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ED seizes Nirav Modi's assets on October 1 but recovering the money could take time

Published
Oct 2, 2018

The Enforcement Directorate seized properties owned by the fugitive jeweller Nirav Modi on October 1 worth Rs 637 crore ($96 million) but, as these must be valued and sold, it could be a long time before the matter is resolved.


The ED seized a number of assets owned by Nirav Modi and his businesses on Monday including jewellery, bank accounts, and luxury apartments - Nirav Modi- Facebook


The ED seized a number of assets owned by Nirav Modi and his businesses on Monday including jewellery, bank accounts, and luxury apartments in five countries, as reported by the Times of India. However, these assets now need to be officially valued and there is no certainly that the value will be what the ED claims. For example, the ED seized gold and diamonds it believed to be worth Rs 5,100 in February but these were later valued at only Rs 2,000 crore. Moreover, properties that have been seized have to be properly maintained if they are to be sold at their current value. Maintaining luxury houses is expensive and the government has no clear rules on how to go about this.

Seized assets cannot be sold until the accused, in this case Modi, is convicted in court. Modi has yet to appear in court despite numerous requests and has been out of the country since before news of the scandal broke. Indian authorities are currently in the process of trying to arrange for Modi to be extradited from the UK where he is believed to be to India. However, negotiations have a long way to go.

If Modi is convicted, the ED would still need to wait out a number of other procedures before it could sell any assets. The Punjab National Bank (PNB) has accused Modi along with his Uncle Mehul Choksi of fraudulently obtaining Rs 13,500 crore, making it the largest accused fraud in India’s banking history.

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