PNB scam: Nirav Modi living in luxury flat in London, running business

Fugitive diamantaire Nirav Modi, wanted in the multi-crore Punjab National Bank fraud in India, has been traced to an £8 million apartment in London’s West End. The UK daily The Telegraph, which tracked him down, reported that Nirav Modi is running a new diamond business just a few hundred yards from his new abode.

The Telegraph published a video in which a journalist is seen throwing questions to the diamond billionaire who seems to be looking to get into a cab. Nirav, who now sports a handlebar moustache and looks different from older pictures in the public domain, dodged most of the questions with a "no comments" response and a smirk. It was quite evident that he was trying to maintain composure. The report added that he was wearing a jacket made from “Ostrich hide”, which costs “at least £10,000” (over Rs 9 lakh). 

According to The Telegraph, Modi is living in a “three-bedroom flat occupying half of a floor of the landmark Centre Point tower block, with views across London”.

"Modi appears to have adopted a surprisingly nonchalant attitude to his fugitive status, walking his small dog each day between his apartment and the diamond company's office in a town house in Soho, just a few hundred yards from his Centre Point home. The Telegraph has also learnt from a well-placed government source that, Modi was given a national insurance number in recent months by the department for work & pensions and has been able to operate online bank accounts in the UK while wanted by Indian authorities. He has also been in contact with a wealth management company based in west London, which specialises in advice to rich foreigners. It is not clear why the British government has given him a national insurance number and yet has apparently failed to act on the Interpol red notice," The Telegraph report said. National insurance numbers are required to legally work in the UK.

Nirav and his uncle Mehul Choksi, accused of duping PNB of about Rs 14,000 crore, had fled India in January last year, a couple of weeks before the scam became public. As a result, the Interpol had issued a red corner notice against the duo. While Choksi has taken up Antiguan citizenship and surrendered his Indian passport to the Antiguan government, the UK had recently informed India that Nirav Modi has been located in the country.