Indian sleuths raid billionaire jewellers offices
AFP
AFP, MUMBAI: Indian investigators yesterday raided the premises of a billionaire jeweller accused of defrauding one of the countrys biggest banks.
Enforcement Directorate (ED) officers searched the Mumbai offices of Nirav Modi after he was accused of cheating state-owned Punjab National Bank (PNB) of 2.8 billion rupees ($43.8 million).
Footage broadcast on Indian television news channels showed officers entering one of Modis jewellery showrooms in the south of Indias financial capital.
The Press Trust of India (PTI) news agency reported that investigators searched around half a dozen locations in Mumbai, including Modis home, as well as stores in New Delhi and Surat.
A spokesman for the ED refused to comment when contacted by the news agency.
Modi is one of Indias richest men. He is worth $1.73 billion according to Forbes, placing him 85th on Indias rich list.
The 47-year-old is the founder of jewellery giant Firestar Diamond. His high-end Nirav Modi brand has stores in several of the worlds major cities.
Wednesdays raids came a day after the ED registered a money laundering case against Modi and a few others, including members of his family and a business associate.
It followed PNBs complaint last month to Indias top investigating agency, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), that it had been defrauded of 2.8 billion rupees.
The bank, Indias second-largest state-owned lender, announced on Wednesday that it had also detected fraud of almost $1.8 billion at a single branch in Mumbai, sending its shares plummeting.
It made fresh allegations against Modi to the CBI, according to the PTI news agency.
The trouble comes as Indias government is trying to reduce the crippling debts of the countrys embattled lenders, including PNB.
It recently announced a $32-billion recapitalisation plan for state-owned banks to help them clean up their books.PNB shares were down almost six percent yesterday.
