On Tuesday, Fadnavis government ordered bulldozing of bungalows owned by fugitive jeweler Mehul Choksi and Nirav Modi among many others over violation of Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) norms.
Many bungalows in Alibaug were under the scanner for not complying with the CRZ norms.
Bungalows of both economic offenders- Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi- are presently attached by Enforcement Directorate (ED). The Maharashtra government will now work in tandem with ED to initiate further action on the razing of their bungalows.
The environment minister of the State, Ramdas Kadam, announced the decision at a review meeting in Raigad district.
Mehul Choksi and Nirav Modi are wanted by multiple criminal agencies of India for cheating of Rs 13,600 crore through fraudulent letters of undertaking (LoU) and foreign letters of credit. Their company, Gitanjali Gems Ltd, got a letter of undertaking, or LoU (essentially a bank guarantee against which another lender gives a foreign currency loan), from Brady House PNB branch without any collateral with help of its senior official who is also charged in the case. When the senior official retired, the person from Gitanjali jems again came to get LoU from some other bank official who refused to give it without collateral. Later on, an internal investigation in PNB revealed that many LoUs were issued to Gitanjali Gems without any collateral. According to investigation agencies, both of them have inflated the value of diamonds, pearls, and jewelry which they have in their stores. ED found the value of the stock inflated three times in case of Modi’s firms and about 10 times in the case of Choksi’s firms.
Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi left the country in January, a few weeks before the scam broke in media. The case against Modi and Choksi is registered under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA) which allows for the confiscation and seizure of properties obtained from the laundered money. The probe agency has so far attached assets worth Rs 1,175 crore of Modi and Rs 2,400 crore of Choksi in India. This includes movable and immovable assets, diamonds, gold, and jewelry.
Nirav Modi and Mehul Choski were also found to be involved in money laundering. Hundreds of ‘shell companies’ were found to be registered under the names of wife and relatives of Nirav Modi.
Lok Sabha passed The Fugitive Economic Offenders Bill which addresses the issue of economic offenders like Vijay Mallya and Nirav Modi who had fled the country to avoid prosecution.
The Interpol had issued a Red Corner Notice (RCN) against absconding billionaire jeweler Nirav Modi in connection with PNB fraud case. The United Kingdom had responded by sharing the “movements” of Nirav Modi and others named in the fraud case. Just two days back, U.K has confirmed Nirav Modi’s presence and CBI also moved an application seeking his extradition. An official said, “We have also sent a copy of the Interpol Red Notice issued against [Nirav] Modi, seeking his immediate detention and intimation.” India authorities also requested Antigua to extradite Mehul Choksi.