PNB scam: ED attaches Nirav Modi's properties worth Rs 25 crore

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Saturday said that it has attached properties worth Rs 25 crore of diamond jeweller Nirav Modi in connection with its ongoing probe into the Rs 13,540 crore PNB fraud case. An ED official told IANS that the searches were carried out on Thursday at Nirav Modi's palatial residence 'Samudra Mahal' in Mumbai along with a Central Bureau of Investigation(CBI) team. The official also said that the searches continued till Saturday morning and resulted in the seizure of antique jewellery worth Rs 15 crore, high-end watches valued at Rs 1.40 crore and paintings worth Rs 10 crore that includes artworks by M.F. Hussain, K.K. Hebbar, Amrita Shergil. The ED also attached a diamond ring valued at Rs 10 crore. The financial probe agency's action comes after it registered a separate case against the diamond jeweller and his uncle Mehul Choksi of the Gitanjali Group for defrauding the banks to the tune of Rs 13,540 crore. Till date, the ED has carried out searches at over 251 properties across the country and seized diamond, gold, precious and semi-precious stones, pearls.The ED has also attached immovable properties belonging to Nirav Modi Group and Mehul Choksi group to the tune of Rs 7,638 crore. Choksi, Nirav Modi and his family fled in January around a month before the PNB filed first complaint against them about the fraud and they are still at large.