Three weeks after it attached assets worth Rs 637 crore belonging to fugitive diamantaire Nirav Modi from various countries, the Enforcement Directorate on Thursday announced it had attached valuables worth Rs 255 crore of the fugitive in Hong Kong.
Modi and his uncle, Mehul Choksi, have been charged with cheating Punjab National Bank using fraudulent issuance of letters of undertaking and foreign letters of credit worth over $2 billion (about Rs 13,000 crore). Both Modi and Choksi have been absconding since January this year.
On October 1, the Enforcement Directorate announced it had seized properties, including five overseas bank accounts valued at Rs 278 crore, two immovable properties in New York worth Rs 216 crore, diamond jewellery from Hong Kong and an apartment in Mumbai.
On October 17, the ED had seized assets of Choksi and others, worth over Rs 218 crore, including diamonds and flats abroad. While Choksi was last reported to be in the Caribbean nation of Antigua and Barbuda, the whereabouts of Modi is yet to be ascertained.
The Enforcement Directorate had moved court seeking to declare Modi and Choksi as "fugitive economic offenders" and is seeking a nod to confiscate their assets worth Rs 3,500 crore.
