London court allows sale of Nirav Modi’s property

Property bought in Dec 2017 for £6.25 million (approx. ₹60 crore) by Trident Trust Company (Singapore), linked to Nirav Modi family.

The high court in London on Wednesday gave permission to sell a prime property belonging to Nirav Modi’s family trust for not less than £5.25 million (approximately ₹55 crore). The order came after the court traversed through a complex tangle of trust rules that are used by high net worth individuals to escape scrutiny and tax liabilities. Nirav Modi appeared from Thameside prison through video conferencing.

London court allows sale of Nirav Modi’s property

The property in question was purchased in December 2017 for £6.25 million (approximately ₹60 crore) by Trident Trust Company (Singapore) whose ultimate beneficiaries were members of the Nirav Modi family. Two high end real estate agents have been scouting for buyers and the proceeds, once realised, will go to Nirav Modi’s creditors.

The 4,079 square feet duplex apartment is situated close to Baker Street station and came under scanner after Nirav Modi’s downfall following the Punjab National Bank (PNB) scam. On paper, the property was shown to be owned by Purvi Modi, Nirav’s sister. The Enforcement Directorate (ED), meanwhile, had maintained that the ultimate beneficiary and control was with Nirav Modi. However, as the ED probed the exact ownership and sale of the property in the London court, Nirav Modi turned around to admit that it was not Purvi, but he himself who had purchased the property.

The ED represented by Harish Salve, King’s Counsel and assisted by Chintan Chandrachud told the court that they oppose any payments to be made to Nirav Modi upon the conclusion of the sale. Salve told the court that ED does not want the property to be put on auction and realise less money. Hence, the ED was fine with the sale of the property which would realise a fair amount and the proceeds to be given in accordance with the law. Nirav Modi owes money to the HMRC (UK tax authority) which could ultimately auction the property to recover the due.

The same family trust, which owns the London property, also operated a bank account in Geneva which had $12 million, which is now frozen. It is to be noted that Nirav Modi has been facing a magistrates’ court in the UK over non-payment of legal dues and promised that he would pay through monthly instalments. In this case he managed to get a solicitor – BCL Solicitors LLP - to represent him. The case was heard before Master Brightwell.

Firestar Diamond, the company owned by Nirav, went bankrupt in 2018, and Nirav Modi has been in prison in the UK since 2019, but that has not stopped investigators to go after assets belonging to him and his key associates. Mihir Bhansali, the former chief executive of Firestar Diamond, has come under scanner after Richard Levin the trustee responsible for liquidating Firestar has alleged that Bhansali transferred his interest in a New York residence to his wife to keep it away from creditors.