PNB case: Nirav, Choksi lose passport; ED attaches 21 properties

New Delhi: Passports of Punjab National Bank (PNB) scam accused Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi were revoked on Saturday, setting the stage for their extradition and questioning.

There is no official confirmation about the whereabouts of the two accused, however, some news reports suggested that they could be in the US. MEA sources said that after the cancellation of their passports the two will not be able to legally travel to a new country from their current location.

The two accused’s passports were revoked on a day when the ED attached 21 properties, including a penthouse and a farmhouse, of Mr Modi and his group worth over Rs 523 crore.

On Saturday, the CBI also examined PNB’s managing director and CEO Sunil Mehta and its executive director K.V. Brahmaji Rao to understand how the fraud took place and was detected.

The passports of Mr Modi and Mr Choksi were revoked after they failed to reply to a notice issued on February 16 by the MEA, asking them to reply within a week on why their passports should not be cancelled.

Two days ago, the MEA had confirmed that Mr Modi established contact with it and had asked it o send the notice to a particular email id. This was then done by the MEA.

The notice was initially sent to an address in India following which Mr Modi sought its copy on email.

On the question regarding whereabouts of Mr Modi, an MEA spokesperson said that the matter should be addressed to the law enforcement agencies.

The ED on Saturday attached 21 properties, including a penthouse and a farmhouse, of Nirav Modi and his group worth over Rs 523 crore.

The central probe agency said it has issued a provisional order for attachment of the assets under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), and seized a Rs 81.16-crore penthouse (created by joining three flats) and a flat worth Rs 15.45 crore in the sea-facing Samudra Mahal apartments in the Worli area of Mumbai.

The 21 attached properties of Mr Modi include six residential properties, 10 office premises, two flats in Pune, a solar power plant, a farmhouse in Alibaug and 135 acres of land in Karjat in Ahmednagar district, the agency said.

The agency had earlier seized gems, diamonds, jewellery, shares, bank deposits and costly cars, taking the value of seizures so far to over `6,000 crore.

Meanwhile, the CBI questioned PNB’s CEO Mehta and ED Rao to  understand how the crime was detected by the bank and other procedural issues and their violations. They are not being treated as accused, sources said.