Fugitive diamantaire Nirav Modi’s sister Purvi Mehta and her husband Maiank Mehta have decided to turn approver in the Punjab National Bank (PNB) scam case. According to the reports, Purvi and Maiank have filed an application before the Special PMLA Court in Mumbai asking the court to seek pardon under Section 306 and 307 of the CrPC. The two have now decided to turn approver and is expected to assist in the confiscation of two flats in New York, one each in London and Mumbai, bank balances in two Swiss Bank accounts and also another bank account in Mumbai.
Purvi, a Belgian national, is an accused in the case registered by the Enforcement Directorate, while Nirav Modi is the prime accused in a $2 billion bank fraud case at state-owned PNB. Justice VC Barde, the Special Judge for cases under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) has accepted their application. The “position of the accused (Purvi Modi) in this case after tender of pardon is that she shall be marked as approver”, the court said in its order.
“The accused staying abroad presently shall be directed to present herself before the court, for which purpose the prosecution shall take necessary steps,” the order said. The husband-wife duo promises to make full disclosures and provide evidence. The husband-wife duo has also submitted an undertaking to make true and full disclosure of the circumstances and events without concealing any evidence and to provide complete documents. Purvi has agreed to assist in realising and repatriating various assets in India and abroad totalling £57.9 million to the government.
The approvers have categorically stated that all the companies, properties and accounts mentioned in the prosecution complaints, except Pavillion Point Corporation belong to Nirav Modi. She gave her willingness to offer all cooperation to repatriate the assets to India. Earlier, the Enforcement Directorate (ED), which is probing the multi-crore PNB scam case, had filed submissions before the Special PMLA court against Purvi, Maiank and others in the bank fraud case. The investigation under PMLA had revealed that Purvi has a dozen bank accounts and ownership of various companies/trusts abroad.
Nirav Modi is the prime accused in the USD 2 billion PNB scam. He had fled India after the PNB had reported £1.13 billion loan fraud by Nirav Modi and his uncle Mehul Choksi. After evading detection for over a year, he was finally arrested in London on March 20 last year. He had been living in an ultra-luxury apartment in West London. His bail petitions have been repeatedly denied and he has been in a UK jail since.
The other accused Mehul Choksi has taken up the citizenship of Antigua and has been living there. The Indian government is trying for his extradition too. Both Nirav and Choksi’s properties, houses, luxury items and business premises have been attached by the ED in India. In June, the ED had recovered several consignments of diamond and luxury pearl jewellery of the duo in Hong Kong and had brought back over 108 consignments of various entities, totalling over £130 million.
