PNB scam: Singapore court freezes bank account of company owned by Nirav Modi’s sister
The order came on the Enforcement Directorate’s request that the account had money allegedly siphoned off from Punjab National Bank.
The Singapore High Court has ordered the freezing of Rs 44 crore of bank deposits held in the country by a company owned by family members of businessman Nirav Modi, an accused in the Punjab National Bank scam case, India’s Enforcement Directorate said on Tuesday.
The bank account belongs to Pavilion Point Corporation, a company in the tax haven of British Virgin Islands in the Caribbean beneficially owned by Modi’s sister Purvi Modi and her husband Maiank Mehta, the Hindustan Times reported.
The court order came on the Enforcement Directorate’s request that the deposit in the account contained part of money allegedly siphoned off by Nirav Modi from the Punjab National Bank. The scam, worth at least Rs 13,000 crore, came to light last year.
On Thursday, the Enforcement Directorate had seized four Swiss bank accounts belonging to Nirav Modi and Purvi Modi, with Rs 283.16 crore deposited in them.
Nirav Modi is currently in prison in the United Kingdom, where is facing extradition proceedings. Last week, the Westminster Magistrate’s court in London extended his remand till July 25, the next date of hearing. Modi has been in jail since March, when he was arrested in London for allegedly duping Punjab National Bank.
On May 31, the court had extended Modi’s custody till June 27. The judge had denied him bail, saying there were substantial grounds to believe he would fail to surrender and might interfere with witnesses and obstruct justice.
Nirav Modi’s uncle Mehul Choksi is also an accused in the case. He is currently in Antigua and Barbuda, where he obtained citizenship last year, and is fighting a case in an anti-corruption court in Mumbai to stop the Enforcement Directorate from declaring him a fugitive. He has refused to visit India to appear in court, saying his health problems do not allow him to travel long distances.