PNB fraud case: ED freezes shares, mutual funds worth Rs 100 crore of Nirav Modi, Mehul Choksi, nine luxury cars also seized

Enforcement Directorate officials raids Punjab National Bank Thane Branch (Express Photo/Deepak Joshi/File)

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday froze shares and mutual funds worth Rs 100 crore of billionaire diamond jeweller Nirav Modi and promoter of Gitanjali Group Mehul Choksi in connection with the Punjab National Bank scandal. At least nine luxury cars, belonging to Modi, were also seized as part of the investigation under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The agency is probing fraudulent transactions worth Rs 11,400 crore made through a Mumbai branch of the state-owned bank.

The cars seized include a Rolls Royce Ghost, a Mercedes Benz, a Porsche Panamera, three Honda variants, a Toyota Fortuner and an Innova. The ED also seized  paintings owned by Modi, including works of Francis Souza, Amrita Sher-Gil, V S Gaitonde, Akbar Padamsee, Bharti Kher and M F Husain.

Read | Media firm BCCL invested in Mehul Choksi firms, HT Media ‘evaluated’ but didn’t seal deal

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The development comes a day after Modi’s Alibaug farmhouse was sealed by the CBI, which is investigating the businessman for fraud. The bungalow, called Roapanya, is spread over 1.5 acres and has the market value of Rs 32 crore. It was reportedly bought in 2004 in his name.

The cars seized include a Rolls Royce Ghost, a Mercedes Benz, a Porsche Panamera, three Honda variants, a Toyota Fortuner and an Innova.

PNB, which detected the scam on February 14, alleged companies promoted by both Modi and Choksi misused Letters of Undetaking (MoU) issued by the bank and transmitted SWIFT instructions to overseas branches of Indian banks to raise buyers credit for companies without making entries in the bank system.