Hong Kong silent on Nirav Modi's whereabouts

Hong Kong's Department of Justice (DoJ) on Monday refused to share information on absconding jewellery designer and Punjab National Bank (PNB) scam accused Nirav Modi, who is confirmed to be in the Hong Kong by Indian authorities.

In response to ANI's question on Nirav Modi's whereabouts, a spokesman at DoJ neither denied nor accepted that the jewellery designer is in Hong Kong.

"The Department of Justice does not comment on individual cases," he told ANI.

Earlier this month, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) requested the Hong Kong authorities to surrender Nirav Modi.

Meanwhile, PNB on Saturday moved the Hong Kong High Court against Nirav Modi.

The jewellery designer, along with his uncle and business partner Mehul Choksi, was at the center of the multi-crore loan default scam that hit the PNB.

The scam, which reportedly began in 2011, was detected in the third week of January this year after which PNB officials reported it to the concerned agencies.

Both Modi and Choksi managed to flee the country in the first week of January, just days before PNB detected the fraud.