ED to release Nirav Modi's assets worth ₹60 cr to PNB

NIRAV MODI IS THE PRIME ACCUSED IN THE ₹13,850-CRORE FRAUD AT THE PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK (PNB)

- Revu Suresh

MUMBAI: A special CBI court has directed the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to release assets worth ₹60 crore belonging to fugitive diamantaire Nirav Modi to the Punjab National Bank (PNB), which had suffered huge losses in the alleged loan fraud perpetrated by Modi and his associates.

Special CBI sessions judge AV Gujarathi on Tuesday ordered the ED to release jewellery, coins, watches and cash owned by Nirav Modi worth ₹40.83 crore and a flat registered in the name of his sister, Poorvi Modi, worth ₹19.50 crore.

The public sector bank had approached the court under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), seeking an order to release some of the properties confiscated by the ED. The PMLA allows a party to move court seeking to release a confiscated property if the party has a legitimate interest in the property and has suffered a quantifiable loss.