PNB scam: ED raids Akshat showroom in Raipur

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Saturday conducted raids at Akshat Jewellery showroom in Raipur's Ambuja Mall in connection with the Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud case involving businessmen Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi.

Jewellery worth Rs one crore was unearthed from the showroom that reportedly belongs to Choksi's relative.

Earlier in the day, the ED conducted searches at 21 locations across India in connection with the infamous case.

The agency also seized diamonds, gold, precious stones and jewellery worth Rs 25 crore.

Diamonds worth Rs 2.30 crore were seized from Gitanjali Group's Nakshatra jewellery showroom in Bhopal.

The agency conducted searches at several places linked to Nirav Modi in Mumbai, Delhi, and Gujarat, and seized diamonds, jewellery and gold worth Rs 5,649 crore.

The agency has seized properties worth Rs 5,674 crore till now.

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 case was filed on the basis of an FIR registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) early this month.

The PNB detected the 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.