PNB fraud: ED seizes luxury cars, more assets of Modi, Choksi

The Enforcement Directorate on Thursday said it has seized nine high-end luxury cars belonging to Nirav Modi besides crores of assets in connection with its ongoing probe into the Rs 11,300 crore Punjab National Bank fraud case.

Coming down on the diamond czar, the ED seized one Rolls Royce Ghost, two Mercedes Benz GL series, one Porsche Panamera, three Hondas, one Toyota Fortuner and Innova during its searches at 17 locations in Mumbai on Wednesday.

An agency official said it has frozen Mutual funds and shares worth Rs 7.80 crore of Nirav Modi and Rs 86.72 crore belonging to his uncle Mehul Chokshi of the Gitanjali Group.

The agency has also carried out searches at four firms in Mumbai. It is probing 120 companies on suspicion of being shell firms linked to Modi and Choksi.

The agency's action comes in the wake of its ongoing probe against the two and many others, including directors of their companies and bank officials for the alleged bank fraud.

Letters of Undertaking and Foreign Letters of Credit were used to raise and rollover the amount over several years before an FIR was lodged by the bank on January 29 and February 14.

The Central Bureau of Investigation was also probing the case. Both Modi and Choksi, along with other family members, were said to have left the country in early January.

The FIR has named two former bank employees for alleged direct involvement in the fraudulent transactions.

Three companies of the Gitanjali Group were also named in the second CBI FIR for allegedly defrauding PNB of Rs 4,886 crore.

On Wednesday, the Income Tax department attached 141 bank accounts and fixed deposits of the Nirav Modi group. The cumulative credit balance in these accounts were about Rs 145.74 crore.

--IANS

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