Nirav Modi moves Indian court against ED naming him a fugitive economic offender

By

Isabelle Crossley

Published
Sep 27, 2019

Accused jewellery tycoon Nirav Modi has filed an application at a special court in Mumbai to revoke the Enforcement Directorate’s plea to name him a fugitive economic offender in the ongoing Punjab National Bank fraud case.

On Thursday, Nirav Modi’s lawyers made an application on his behalf to special judge V C Barde in Mumbai to request that the court set aside the ED’s declaration that he is a fugitive economic offender under the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, the Press Trust of India reported. The ED has filed the application to declare him such in July 2018 and the title allows Indian authorities to confiscate property from the fugitive economic offender. 

In a bid to revoke the title, Modi’s lawyers argued that using evidence under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act to invoke the FEO Act was unlawful. The lawyers also argued that the ED’s plan to confiscate property belonging to Modi and his jewellery businesses was not in compliance with the FEO Act. 

Modi’s Uncle and fellow accused in the PNB fraud case, Mehul Choksi, has also moved the court against the ED’s pleas to name him a fugitive economic offender. Both claim their innocence in the PNB fraud case which totals over Rs 13,500 crore ($2 billion) and is one of the largest scale frauds in India’s banking history. Modi is currently being held in a UK jail and Choksi is residing in Antigua where he has taken citizenship.