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Journalism of Courage
A SPECIAL court has pulled up multiple banks for not complying with its orders directing release of certain properties belonging to fugitive diamond merchant Nirav Modi’s company. Two separate applications were moved by a liquidator stating that orders of the court passed in 2021 were not complied with by the banks despite repeated notices.
In 2021, as part of the proceedings against Modi under the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, the court had said that certain properties shall be released in favour of the claimant, Punjab National Bank, through the appointed liquidator.
In the applications, the court was told that some banks had not complied with the orders. It also mentioned that Kotak Mahindra Bank, which was informed to defreeze the account of Firestar Diamond International Pvt Ltd, had instead transferred Rs 2.46 crore to State Bank of India as per an order of the Income Tax commissioner.
It submitted that now only Rs 237.74 lying in the account was transferred to the liquidator.
The court said that though the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act have an overriding effect, the amount was paid to the Income Tax. Similarly, the Union Bank of India had transferred Rs 17 crore but not the remaining amount and Bank of Maharashtra had transferred the amount towards the outstanding loan amount and closed the accounts of the company.
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