The sister of the fugitive diamond merchant Nirav Modi, Purvi Modi informed ED about the UK account from which they later recovered 17 crore rupees.
On Thursday, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) reported that they recovered Rs 17.25 crore. The UK account belonged to Purvi Modi and was reportedly opened by the fugitive Nirav Modi. She has also has turned an approver in the money laundering case against her brother.
The ED also said in their statement that despite the money being in Purvi Modi's account, it did not belong to her and the account was being operated by Nirav Modi. The ED has so far, recovered Rs 2,400 crore by seizing the assets of Nirav Modi in India and abroad.
Nirav Modi is accused of routing transactions of about Rs 13,600 crore through fraudulent Letters of Undertaking (LoUs) of Punjab National Bank (PNB). His uncle, Mehul Choksi, is also accused along with Modi.
Choksi was arrested in Dominica. His wife, Priti Choksi said that Choksi's alleged physical and mental torture and abuse after his arrest had brought anguish to the family. The duo is now being investigated under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
In the first week of January 2018, Nirav Modi allegedly fled the country before the PNB scam became public. According to reports, Modi was arrested in March 2019 in the UK. He is now stationed at Wandsworth prison in London.
In April 2021, the government of the UK approved the extradition of the money laundering accused Nirav Modi to India. This came after the February order from the UK court directed that the evidence against him sufficient to face charges in India.
This week, Nirav Modi moved to the UK High court for an oral hearing. He came with a renewed “leave to appeal” application. The High Court judge was left to decide whether the case required a full appeal hearing against the extradition ordered by a lower court.