On the request of CBI, Interpol has issued a Red Corner Notice against absconding billionaire jeweller Nirav Modi in connection with billion dollar fraud Punjab National Bank (PNB) scam.
Jeweller Nirav Modi and his maternal uncle Mehul Choksi are accused of defrauding the state run Punjab National Bank to the tune of Rs. 13,500 crore. The CBI has charge sheeted both Nirav Modi and paternal uncle Mehul Choksi separately in the scam.
With the charges ‘money laundering’, levelled by Enforcement Directorate (ED), listed under Red Corner Notice (RCN), Interpol mandates its 192 member countries to share the location of absconder among the member countries of Interpol and arrest or detain the fugitive if spotted in their countries after which deportation proceedings can begin.
An RCN will help restrict travel by Nirav and Choksi using their Indian passports. If either of them is detected making such an attempt, Indian agencies will be alerted through Interpol. In response to the RCN, United Kingdom has shared the movement of Modi and other fugitives while his specific location remains unknown. Although RCN can restrict Nirav Modi within the UK, it won’t be enough to bring him back. For this, India will need to send an extradition request for the UK to start the process, once he is located or provisionally arrested.
Nirav Modi along with his wife Ami (US citizen), brother Nishal, and uncle Mehul Choksi (Gitanjali group’s promoter), had fled the country in January first week this year, before the PNB approached CBI with a complaint against his companies for allegedly cheating through fraudulent issuance of Letters of Undertakings (LoUs) and Foreign Letters of Credit (FLCs).
