PNB Scam: Punjab National Bank (PNB) has stepped up initiatives to recover its dues from fugitive diamond merchant Nirav Modi, who is accused of defrauding the bank. The bank on Wednesday filed an application before a special court in Mumbai seeking restitution of properties worth Rs 71 crore owned by Modi so that it can proceed to recover a part of its dues.
The bank urged the court to release the properties attached by the probe agencies.
Rs 14,000 crore scam
Nirav Modi and his uncle Mehul Choksi are accused of swindling Rs 14,000 crore by fraudulently obtaining credit facilities from PNB. Modi’s properties as well as those of his relatives were attached by the Enforcement Directorate under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. He was declared a ‘fugitive economic offender’ in December 2019.
The plea states that the PNB consortium and the UBI consortium have always conducted their business in good faith in the normal course of banking activities and were unaware of the fraud when they disbursed loans to Nirav Modi companies.
Presently, properties worth only Rs 1,066.41 crore have been exempted from attachment under the PMLA and this value is grossly inadequate to meet the quantifiable loss, it said. It added that since the claimants are public sector banks, the amount to be recovered is public money.
The application states that some of the properties attached by the ED are subject to market fluctuations and any delay in liquidating them may reduce their value.
It added, therefore, that there is an urgent need for their quick disposal to get the best value of the properties.
Some of the assets include valuables owned by Firestar Diamond Ltd, jewelery worth Rs 35.52 lakh, 8 cars including a Bentley owned by Nirav Modi. The total value of the properties to be restored is Rs 71.16 crore.
The court asked the prosecution to file its reply by July 25.
(with PTI inputs)