The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday, 10 June, said it has brought back 108 consignments of jewellery worth Rs 1,350 crore belonging to Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi firms.
The consignments contain polished diamonds, pearls and silver jewellery, said ED. These were brought back to Mumbai today and they weigh approximately 2,340 kg, said ED.
According to ED's press release, of the 108 consignments, 32 belong to Modi and 76 to Choksi.
Earlier, ED had brought back 33 consignments of valuables worth around Rs 137 Crore from Dubai and Hong Kong in Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi case, added ED.
Modi, along with his uncle Mehul Choksi, is among the prime accused in the Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud of over Rs 14,000 crore, unearthed over two years ago.
On Monday, in a significant order, a special court in Mumbai had ordered the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to confiscate specified properties, worth Rs 1,400 crore, of Nirav Modi within a month, a lawyer said.
"The accused (Nirav Modi) was declared a fugitive economic offender on 5 December 2019, and the order to confiscate the properties has come on Monday," Special Public Prosecutor Hiten Venegaonkar told IANS.
The order by PMLA Court Special Judge V. C. Barde directs the agencies concerned including the Income Tax Department to attach and confiscate the listed properties, under Sections 12(2) and (8) of the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, 2018.
However, the properties claimed by certain interested parties which are secured by way of hypothecation, mortgage, etc, including valuable paintings seized by the Income Tax Department, are excluded, Special Judge Barde ruled as he partially disposed of the ED plea.
Currently, Modi is in a London prison after his arrest by the local police in March 2019, while Choksi has become a citizen of the Caribbean island nation of Antigua & Barbuda.
(With inputs from IANS & ANI)
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