PNB scam: Assets worth Rs 26 crore seized from Nirav Modi's Worli flat

Ring worth Rs 10 crore

Joint searches by the enforcement directorate (ED) and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) at Nirav Modi's Samudra Mahal residence at Worli for the past three days has yielded jewellery, paintings and watches worth more than Rs 26 crore on Saturday.

The searches began on Thursday, March 22, and continued till Saturday resulting in the seizure of high-end and antique jewellery valued at R15 crore, watches worth Rs 1.40 crore and paintings worth an approximate R10 crore. Among the paintings are those by MF Hussain, KK Hebbar and Amrita Sher-Gil, ED officials said.

The case
ED had registered a case under the prevention of money laundering act (PMLA) against Nirav Modi and his uncle Mehul Choksi and others in the Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud case based on the first information report (FIR) by the CBI. The ED has conducted a total of 251 searches all over the country so far.

Attachments and other action
The ED has attached immovable properties worth Rs 7,638 crore belonging to the Nirav Modi Group and the Mehul Choksi Group. Both the ED and CBI have summoned Modi and Choksi, but they are yet to appear before the agencies. While Modi is suspected to be in Hong Kong, Choksi is said to be in the US. The agencies have begun the process of attaching their properties overseas and also to extradite them.

CBI case
The CBI has filed three separate cases against Modi, Choksi and others, including officials of PNB.

Also read: ED registers PMLA case against Nirav Modi

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