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Nirav Modi accused of $1.8 billion fraud by the Punjab National Bank
Not only Nirav Modi but major jewellery brands like Gitanjali, Ginni and Nakshatra have also come under the scanner.
Celebrity jewellery designer, Nirav Modi, has landed himself in trouble after Punjab National Bank (India’s second largest government bank) accused him of $1.8 billion fraud. The bank in a regulatory filing to the stock said that it had detected “fraudulent and unauthorised” transactions amounting to Rs. 11,360 crore at a branch in Mumbai.
Sources told the Press Trust of India that the CBI received the bank’s complaint against Nirav Modi. Not only Nirav Modi but major jewellery brands like Gitanjali, Ginni and Nakshatra have also come under the scanner. Jewellery honco, Nirav Modi has already been investigated by the CBI. His offices in Surat, Delhi and Jaipur have also been thoroughly searched.
It is being reported that since 2011, senior bank officials have been facilitating the alleged fraud. The bank has already suspended over 10 employees but hasn’t revealed the names yet. 8 letters of understanding were issued to the jeweller, without being registered or entered in the books, directly for Hong-Kong based banks; as been told to the CBI.
The fraud came to light when Nirav Modi’s companies issued for a fresh loan as revealed by the bank; also the officials who had helped them earlier had already retired. Its when the bank insisted on guarantees to issue the Letters of Understanding, the Modi companies blatantly refused saying that they had used the facility before.
Nirav Modi has boutiques across the World in London, New York, Las Vegas, Hawai, Singapore, Macau and Beijing. He is also the founder of $2.3 billion Firestar Diamond and has many celebrity clients.
Let’s wait and watch how this drama unfolds.
