PNB fraud: ED moves court seeking extradition of Nirav Modi

NEW DELHI/MUMBAI: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) moved a special court in Mumbai on Monday, seeking extradition of diamond jeweller Nirav Modi in connection with a money laundering case related to the $2 billion Punjab National Bank (PNB) loan fraud, officials said.
It is understood that the extradition has been sought by the agency from the UK, Belgium and a few other countries.
It has been sought on the basis of a recent chargesheet filed by the agency against Nirav Modi and his family under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
The Mumbai court had last week issued a non-bailable arrest warrant against Nirav Modi after taking congnizance of the chargesheet.
According to officials, as Nirav has been continuously changing his location across the globe, the extradition request has been made to multiple countries as part of mandate under criminal provisions of the anti-money laundering Act.
Nirav Modi, his uncle and jeweller Mehul Choksi and others are being probed by various agencies after the bank fraud came to light, following a complaint from Punjab National Bank (PNB) that they allegedly cheated the nationalised bank to the tune of over Rs 13,000 crore with the purported involvement of a few employees of the bank.
The CBI and the ED have registered two FIRs each in connection with the case.
Both Modi and Choksi are said to have fled the country before the criminal cases were lodged against them.