No means to verify travel plans of Nirav Modi: Govt

The Ministry of External Affairs revoked the passport of diamantaire Nirav Modi, the main accused in the USD 2-billion PNB fraud case, and it has no means to verify his travels, if any, the government told the Lok Sabha Wednesday.

In a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha, Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan said the ministry revoked Nirav Modi's passport as per the provisions of "Section 10(3)(c) of the Passports Act, 1967, on February 23, 2018".

On whether Nirav Modi travelled multiple times to foreign countries on an Indian passport which had been revoked, Muraleedharan said "the ministry has no means to verify the travels, if any, of Mr. Nirav Modi and the passport used for such travels by him".

Nirav Modi and his uncle Mehul Choksi are wanted by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for allegedly defrauding the PNB of Rs 13,400 crore.

Multiple investigation agencies, including the ED, Serious Fraud Investigation Office, CBI, Department of Revenue Intelligence and the Income Tax department, are currently investigating the fraud.

Nirav Modi is currently being held in judicial custody in the UK pending his extradition trial sought by India in relation to the nearly USD 2 billion Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud and money laundering case.