No sale in Nirav Modi showrooms, directs ED

The Enforcement Directorate on Friday filed a fresh case against businessman Nirav Modi in connection with Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud case and directed his head office to ensure that no sales should happen in his showrooms.

The agency also said that if the officials fail to abide by the direction then it would register another case.

As per the sources, the agency also summoned Nirav Modi and another accused Mehul Choksi on February 23 at Mumbai office.

Meanwhile, the Enforcement Directorate also conducted raids at 35 new locations across India in connection with the case.

It also seized jewellery, diamond and gold worth Rs. 549 crore and identified 29 immovable properties of Nirav Modi.

The agency yesterday also conducted searches at several places linked to Nirav Modi in Mumbai, Delhi and Gujarat, and seized diamond, jewellery and gold worth Rs. 5,100 crore.

The raids came after the agency filed a money laundering case against Nirav Modi, his wife Ami, brother Nishal and relative Mehul Choksi on February 14, following a complaint by the PNB.

The agency has filed the case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) on the basis of an FIR registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) early this month.

The PNB detected scam in which jeweller Nirav Modi acquired fraudulent letters of undertaking from one of its branches for overseas credit from other Indian lenders.

The scam was started in 2011 and was detected in the third week of January this year, after which the PNB officials filed a complaint with the CBI on January 31.