PMLA court cancels arrest warrant for accused jewellery tycoon Nirav Modi's brother-in-law

By

Isabelle Crossley

Published
Sep 9, 2021

As Indian authorities continue to work to extradite jewellery tycoon accused of fraud Nirav Modi, a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act court cancelled arrest warrants for Modi’s brother-in-law in exchange for his cooperation. 

On September 7, a PMLA court cancelled all arrest warrants issued against Nirav Modi’s brother-in-law, Maianak Mehta, following his appearance before the court, the Hindustan Times reported. Mehta has been instructed to cooperate with the Enforcement Directorate in its investigation into the alleged money laundering elements of the overall fraud investigation against Nirav Modi and his uncle and fellow jeweller Mehul Choksi. 
 
Although not under arrest, Mehta must also inform the agency before leaving the country at any time, the court ruled. The ruling follows the PMLA court’s prior decision to allow Nirav Modi’s sister, who is Mehta’s wife, to become an approver in the case and aid the investigation against her brother and act as a prosecution witness. 

Both Purvi Modi and Mehta had made separate pleas to have their arrest warrants cancelled. As part of her pardon, Purvi Modi deposited Rs 17.25 crore ($2.59 million) into a government bank account. The total of the alleged fraud at the Punjab National Bank is over Rs 13,500 crore making it one of the largest scale frauds in India’s banking history. 
 
Nirav Modi is currently attempting to appeal the UK court ruling to extradite him to India to stand trial. Mehul Choksi was arrested in Dominica after allegedly entering the island illegally. Choksi has stated he was kidnapped and taken there by Indian authorities and his case is ongoing after he was granted bail for medical reasons.