Nirav Modi, a once-prominent diamond merchant, is currently facing his worst financial phase yet. In 2019, Modi was arrested by London police for his involvement in major financial irregularities linked to the Punjab National Bank PNB, which involved thousands of crores.
As per recent reports, Nirav Modi'sModi's company Firestar Diamond International Pvt Ltd FDIPL has a meagre bank balance of 236. One of the bank accounts of Modi's firm has only 236 remaining remaining, as Kotak Mahindra Bank transferred Rs 2.46 crore to SBI towards income tax dues, while two other banks, Union Bank of India and Bank of Maharashtra only transferred a portion of the total amount due, according to a Times of India report.
The liquidator appointed for the company requested the release of the money.
In 2021, the court ordered that the amount be distributed to the claimant, Punjab National Bank, through the liquidator appointed for FDIPL under the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act.
The special court ordered UBI and BoM to comply with its previous directives within three months and transfer the funds to the liquidator's account. The court found that both banks did not comply with the orders. The liquidators told the court that they had asked the Union Bank of India to transfer the amount lying in the company's account, but the bank didn't respond to the emails. The bank only transferred 17 crore and not the balance.
In a separate report last week, Nirav Modi claimed he had no funds and was resorting to borrowing money to pay court-ordered legal costs, amounting to more than GBP 1,50, 000 Rs 1.5 crore. When questioned about how he planned to fund himself, Modi told the court he had been borrowing funds because his assets had been seized in India as part of the extradition proceedings, leaving him with inadequate resources.
In India, there are three criminal cases involving Modi. The Punjab National Bank PNB's fraud resulted in losses of over 700 million pounds. The proceeds from the PNB fraud are being alleged to have been slashed. The third case involves allegations of tampering with evidence and witnesses related to the CBI proceedings.