PNB scam case: ED detaches Nirav Modi's assets worth over Rs 1000 crore, Rhythm House on auction list

These assets will be auctioned to recover pending dues of the Punjab National Bank.

New Delhi, First Published Dec 25, 2021, 12:40 PM IST | Last Updated Dec 25, 2021, 12:40 PM IST

The Enforcement Directorate has detached assets worth Rs 1000 crore belonging to fugitive businessman Nirav Modi. These assets will be auctioned to recover pending dues of the Punjab National Bank. The properties detached by the Enforcement Directorate in Mumbai include the popular Rhythm House at Kala Ghoda, flats in Nepean Sea Road and an office building in Kurla. Other assets de-attached by the central agency include high-end jewellery and expensive paintings.

The National Company Law Tribunal has been appointed as the liquidator to auction these properties. The latest move by the Enforcement Directorate comes as a major setback for the fugitive diamantaire. The move comes after a Prevention of Money Laundering Act court order said that banks can sell a part of the attached assets to recover some of the loans given to the fugitive businessman. Rhythm House, a heritage building, was purchased by Nirav Modi's Firestar Diamond International in 2017. Modi had bought the building for Rs 32 crore from the Curmally family who had run a music store there for seven decades before shutting it down over mounting losses.

Meanwhile, in London, Nirav's legal fight against his extradition to India continues. On December 14, the High Court in London started hearing the fugitive businessman's plea against extradition to India. Nirav, who is currently lodged in a jail in London, faces charges of money laundering and fraud worth an estimated $2 billion in the PNB loan scam case. He allegedly defaulted on a loan worth Rs 6,500 crore from PNB that he had acquired through fraudulent letters of undertaking.

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