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Enforcement Directorate confiscates Nirav Modi’s assets worth Rs 329 crore

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday said it has confiscated assets worth Rs 329.66 crore of diamond merchant Nirav Modi under the fugitive economic offenders’ law.

Also Read: ED brings back Rs 1,350-cr worth polished diamonds, pearls of Nirav Modi from Hong Kong

This is the first confiscation of assets order issued under the law that was brought by the Modi government in 2018 with an aim to deter economic offenders from evading the process of law by remaining outside the jurisdiction of Indian courts.

The businessman, his uncle Mehul Choksi and others are being probed by the ED on money laundering charges in connection with an over $2 billion alleged bank fraud at a PNB branch in Mumbai.

“The confiscated properties are in the form of four flats at the iconic building Samudra Mahal in Worli Mumbai, a sea-side farm house and land in Alibaug, a wind mill in Jaisalmer, a flat in London, residential flats in UAE and shares and bank deposits,” the central probe agency said in a statement.

A special court in Mumbai had on June 8 authorised the ED to confiscate the assets. Nirav Modi, 49, was declared a fugitive economic offender by the same court on December 5 last year.

“The ED has attached the properties worth Rs 329.66 crore under the FEO Act, 2018 which now stands confiscated to the central government,” it said.

As per the FEO Act, the confiscated property can be put up for auction after 90 days of issuance of the order and the amount collected is deposited with the exchequer or government account.

The ED also sticks a notice of confiscation on such properties.

The agency till now has attached assets worth Rs 2,348 crore (assessed value) of Nirav Modi under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in this case.

The agency said the special court had “directed it to attach the properties (other than assets mortgaged or hypothecated and secured to PNB led consortium) belonging to Nirav Modi and his companies and ordered that after attachment the said properties shall stand confiscated to central government under Section 12(2) and (8) of the FEO Act”.

The court had also directed the consortium of banks to approach it for claiming the mortgaged or hypothecated and secured properties which were attached by the ED under PMLA.

“On examination of properties attached, it was found that assets worth Rs 1,000 crore are prima facie covered under mortgage.”

“Further, the Bombay High Court had directed that sale proceeds of paintings of about Rs 45 crore to be kept as fix deposits till further orders,” the agency said.

Process for confiscation of remaining attached properties under FEO Act is underway, it said.

The agency had filed an application before the Mumbai court on July 10, 2018 to declare Nirav Modi a fugitive economic offender based on its PMLA investigation against him.

Nirav Modi is currently lodged in a UK jail after being arrested in London in March, 2019 and is currently fighting extradition to India. 

Source: Thanks WIONews.com