PNB fraud: PMLA court rejects Nirav Modi’s plea for intervention

The special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court on Monday rejected the plea of jeweller Nirav Modi for intervention during the hearing on confiscation

The special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court on Monday rejected the plea of jeweller Nirav Modi for intervention during the hearing on confiscation of his properties which is scheduled to begin on February 29.

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Modi, presently lodged in jail in London, was declared as a fugitive economic offender (FEO) under the new FEO Act, enabling the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to begin confiscating his properties in India, the United Kingdom, and the United Arab Emirates.

While the hearing is yet to begin, Punjab National Bank (PNB) had approached the special court against the process of the confiscation and pleaded for release of the properties to the bank to clear dues.

Modi had then approached the court stating that he should be given a copy of the application filed by the bank and also be heard on the plea before passing any order.

The court held that Modi has no right to claim a copy of the application as he has now been declared a fugitive and will not be heard before passing the order on confiscation of his properties.

In the order passed on Monday, the court said that the process of confiscation would begin from February 29, for which all interested parties will be required to make representation and submit their replies.

Modi, the prime accused in the PNB fraud case, was the second person to have been declared an FEO under the new Act.

The ED has listed properties valued at ₹1,396.07 crore, which it claimed were purchased or owned using proceeds of crime, for confiscation.

The court has now issued notices to the parties including Modi’s sisters, other family members, and companies on whose name these properties are listed.

While declaring Modi an FEO, the special judge VC Barde observed that the jeweller had left the country under suspicious circumstances to “dodge the penal consequences of the acts he has done or committed while in India till the year 2017”.