ED plans to auction Nirav Modi’s Rs 2,400 crore assets

By

Isabelle Crossley

Published
Dec 9, 2019

The Enforcement Directorate plans to auction off Rs 2,400 crore ($360.8 million) of accused jeweller Nirav Modi’s assets after he was named a Fugitive Economic Offender and will hold a hearing on January 10, 2020.

Nirav Modi, who is accused of fraud at the Punjab National Bank and remains in Wandsworth Prison in the UK, was recently named India’s second ever Fugitive Economic Offender by a Prevention of Money Laundering Act Court. Following this ruling, the PMLA Court has announced that it will hear the ED’s application to confiscate Rs 2,400 crore of Modi’s property at a court hearing scheduled for January 10, 2020, TNN reported. 

Should the PMLA Court approve the auction, the ED will confiscate Modi’s Rhythm House at Kala Ghoda and residence in Worli, Mumbai. Modi had purchased Rhythm House through his business Firestar Diamonds, which is also implicated in the PNB fraud case, and had planned to use it as a showroom for the business. The proceeds from the auction would be adjusted against the amount of the fraud which totals over Rs 13,000 crore. 

Modi awaits his India extradition trial in the UK and has reported being attacked several times while in UK prison. Modi’s Uncle and fellow accused Mehul Choksi is believed to be residing in Antigua where he has taken citizenship and Indian authorities are working to extradite him to India to stand trial along with Modi.