ED summons Nirav Modi’s family for questioning

The family members of Nirav Modi need to be questioned as a number of financial transactions and Modi’s businesses are linked to them, sources said.

After PNB scam accused Nirav Modi failed to appear before the Enforcement Directorate despite repeated summonses, the agency has now called the diamantaire’s family members for questioning.ED has sent summonses to Modi’s father Deepak Modi, brother Nishal Modi, sister Purvi Mehta, her husband Mayank Mehta, and Mihir Bhansali, who is the director of the jeweller’s US-based firm Firestar Diamond Inc. The family members need to be questioned as a number of financial transactions and Modi’s businesses are linked to them, sources said. The summons have been issued under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and have been sent through e-mail as all the five people are settled abroad.

Officials said that Deepak Modi was suspected to be in Antwerp in Belgium, Nishal and Bhansali could be in the US and the Mehtas were reportedly in Hong Kong. “However, their current locations are not exactly known and hence, summonses have been sent through e-mail,” a senior official said.

The ED has asked them to depose before the investigating officer of the case in Mumbai over the next few days. However, sources said the agency was not very hopeful about them joining the probe in person. A case-to-case call would be taken on the next course of action based on the replies received.

The ED had earlier summoned Modi and his uncle Mehul Choksi in a similar way, but they did not depose before it, citing business engagements and the revocation of their passports by the government.

Modi and Choksi are being investigated by the ED for allegedly cheating the Punjab National Bank to the tune of over Rs 13,000 crore. The CBI and ED have registered two FIRs each in the case. The CBI had earlier this week filed two chargesheets in the case before a Mumbai court, while the ED is expected to file its prosecution complaint soon.