ED begins selling off Nirav Modi's assets

By

Isabelle Crossley

Published
Jun 6, 2022

The Enforcement Directorate has begun to auction off possessions and properties of jewellery tycoon Nirav Modi to recover the money he allegedly defrauded from the Punjab National Bank.

On June 1 and 2, auction house SaffronArt held an auction on behalf of the ED to sell off luxury fashion and lifestyle items owned by the Modi family. The auction was promoted on Instagram as ‘on behalf of the ED’ but the Modi’s were not directly mentioned in the promotions. The auction included two watches which sold for Rs 1.8 crore as well as luxury handbags. 

As well as auctioning fashion and lifestyle goods, the ED has initiated the legal process to auction off Nirav Modi’s three flats in the Samudra Mahal building at Worli which worth over Rs 110 crore, TNN reported. The ED also plans to auction off Modi’s flat at Breach Candy, bungalow at Alibaug, and a windmill and a solar power project to recover funds from the fraud.

The ED has attached immovable and moveable assets belonging to Modi and his family totalling Rs 4,400 crore to the fraud case. This enables the government to take possession of these assets and auction them off to recover dues. 

Modi is currently residing in Wandsworth Jail in the UK awaiting a further appeal against his extradition to India. The UK High Court ruled to extradite Modi to stand trial for fraud in India but Modi is attempting to appeal the decision on mental health grounds.