Nirav Modi ‘cornered’, Interpol issues Red Corner Notice.

In a big win for the Indian government and the Indian investigation agency, Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the Interpol has issued a Red Corner Notice (RCN) against absconding billionaire jeweler Nirav Modi. The Red Corner Notice has been issued in his name in connection with approximately $2 billion Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud case. Nirav Modi has been on the run ever since the PNB fraud came to light. He had managed to stay clear of the nets of the CBI and other investigating agencies from India following which the CBI had approached Interpol. Apart from registering a case in the special CBI court in Mumbai against Nirav Modi, Mehul Choksi and others, the CBI had earlier also issued a diffusion notice through Interpol on February 15^th, 2018 against the fugitives. The diffusion notice is a mechanism through which the locations of an absconder are shared between member countries of the Interpol. The United Kingdom had responded by sharing the “movements” of Nirav Modi and others named in the fraud case but the response did not pinpoint the exact location of the Nirav Modi.

 The issuance of a Red Corner Notice (RCN) by the Interpol is to seek the location and arrest of a person wanted by a judicial jurisdiction or an international tribunal with a view to his/her extradition. Nirav Modi’s arrest will lead to the closure and recovery of over $2 billion fraud case which had shocked the state owned PNB. The deportation of Nirav Modi to India will also silence the opposition parties. The Congress has been the most vocal in criticizing the centre for showing laxity in action against fraudsters. Nirav Modi’s arrest will not only silence the Congress leaders but will also open the doors to further shed light about how the scam took place in the Congress era. PNB was cheated by fraudulently issued Letters of Undertaking (LoUs) and Foreign Letters of Credit (FLCs). It is noteworthy that the scam perpetrated by Nirav Modi and his associates Mehul Choksi, amongst others, was brought to notice in the beginning of this year. Nirav Modi and his associates had already left India and had supposedly been hiding in London and other places when the scam got exposed around February.

The RCN means that National Central Bureaus of designated member countries will stay in sync with the NCB of India, the CBI. The exact locations of Nirav Modi are still unknown but it is impossible for him to stay on the run for long now. Nirav Modi’s arrest along with his deportation to India coupled with Vijay Mallya’s agreement to settle his loans and debts to the banks will provide much needed relief to the Indian banking sector. These will also go a long way in reinstating the belief of the people in the PM Modi led central government. BJP and PM Modi should ensure that both these big events occur before the 2019 Lok Sabha elections to gain maximum traction from these events.