Nirav made dummy firms to save on tax

Mumbai: Fugitive jeweller Nirav Modi was allegedly helping his trusted lieutenants in many ways to keep them happy, according to the Enforcement Directorate (ED)’s recent charge sheet.  One of his ways was to split the salaries of some of his senior employees with their wives so that they got tax benefits even though their wives were not working women.

A witness’s statements show that some directors of dummy companies were drawing their salaries from another company and not from the ones where there were shown as directors. Samir Changani, Femstone & Diamond quality control manager, Firestar International Ltd. in his statement told the Enforcement Directorate (ED) that he was working for Firestar Diamond Ltd, Dubai. However, he was getting his salary from Brilliant Diamonds Ltd.

He further stated that all the dummy directors shifted ackets of diamond and pearls between boxes.

Diamonds and pearls were shifted from from one box to another for further export by quality control managers.

According to Samir Changani, Femstone & Diamond quality control manager, there was no value addition work to the diamond and pearls. Sometimes stones were dismounted from the jewellery and the dismounted jewellery was melted and the stones were again exported to Dubai and India. He said that the melted jewellery came in the form of bars and were again exported to Dubai.

Shyam Sunder Wadhwa, a close associate and the vice president of diamantaire Nirav Modi, in his statement dated March 27, 2018, before the ED said that he did not have any relation with the partnership firms of Nirav Modi and his family i.e. Stellar Diamond, Solar Exports and Diamonds R US with Firestar Group. However, his wife got salary up to March 2017 from Diamonds R US. “She did not have any job there. Her salary was a part of my salary which was disbursed through an account to limit my tax liability,” said Wadhwa.