PNB scam: Nirav Modi threatened to kill company's director, CBI tells court

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Saturday, December 21, filed a charge sheet in the Rs 13,500 crore Punjab National Bank (PNB) scam case in which it invoked criminal intimidation charges against the main accused, Nirav Modi, for threatening to kill one of the dummy directors of his company. The investigating agency told the special court in Maharashtra that Modi threatened to kill one of the directors, Ashish Mohanbhai Lad if he ever expressed a desire to return to India from Cairo.

The CBI said that Lad had fled from Dubai to Cairo to avoid arrest. Later in June 2018, when he planned to return to India from Cairo, he was contacted by Nehal Modi on Nirav Modi's behalf and threatened.

"Investigation revealed that subsequent to the threatening call by Nirav Modi to Ashish Mohanbhai Lad... accused Nehal Modi offered Rs 20 lakh to Lad for visiting Europe to give a favourable statement before the lawyer and a judge in a European court to help Nirav Modi which was refused by Lad," the CBI said in the charge sheet.

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Nirav Modi's case so far

Wanted diamantaire Nirav Modi was declared a fugitive economic offender earlier his month for evading prosecution in the scam. Nirav Modi is absconding and has not joined the ED probe in the case till now. Nirav Modi and others are being probed under various criminal laws after the fraud came to light this year following a complaint by the Punjab National Bank that they allegedly cheated the nationalised bank to the tune of over Rs 13,000 crore. Nirav is currently lodged at Wandsworth prison in London and was denied bail by London court for the fifth time in November. Modi was arrested in March this year by Scotland Yard in connection with the case.

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On May 24, the ED had filed its first charge sheet in the over USD 2 billion PNB fraud case involving diamantaire Nirav Modi and his associates stating that over Rs 6,400 crore of bank funds were allegedly laundered abroad to dummy companies by him and others.  A total of 24 accused have been listed in the charge sheet, filed under section 45 of the PMLA, including Nirav Modi, his father, brother Neeshal Modi, sister Purvi Modi, brother-in-law Mayank Mehta and the designer jewellers' firms--Ms Solar Exports, Stellar Diamonds and Diamonds R Us. A court-issued non-bailable warrant is also pending against Nirav Modi and the Interpol has also issued a red corner notice to against him. He has not returned to India despite repeated summons from Indian probe agencies and courts. India is seeking his extradition to make him face the law of the land for allegedly committing economic offences.

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(with ANI inputs)