Mumbai, Mar 5 (PTI) A special court here has issued notices to absconding diamond businessman Nirav Modi’s brothers Neeshal and Nehal asking them to explain why they should not be officially declared “fugitive economic offender” (FEO) in the Punjab National Bank (PNB) scam.
The notices were issued to Neeshal and Nehal Modi by special court judge A V Gujarathi, hearing cases filed under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), on Wednesday in wake of the Enforcement Directorate’s pleas to declare them fugitive under the Fugitive Economic Offenders (FEO) Act.
Senior executives of Nirav Modi’s firm, Aditya Nanavati and Sandeep Mistry, also facing FEO proceedings, have also been served with similar notices.
They have been asked to respond by May 7.
Once a person is declared an FEO, his or her assets can be attached or confiscated.
Nehal Modi helped Nirav move and hide large amounts of money through fake companies and overseas transactions, the ED has claimed.
Neeshal Modi was involved in the appointment of dummy partners and was a signatory or a beneficiary in some Dubai-based dummy companies between 2011 and 2013, an ED chargesheet alleged.
Nehal Modi was arrested in the US in 2025, and is fighting the extradition proceedings initiated against him by the ED and CBI.
As per the court’s record, both Nehal and Neeshal are Belgium nationals.
The order noted that the Enforcement Directorate’s separate applications for declaration of the FEO are supported by extensive documentation, including the CBI FIR from January 2018 and subsequent prosecution complaints filed between 2018 and 2019.
The applications highlighted that non-bailable warrants (NBWs) issued against them remain un-executed.
Thus, the requirements to issue a formal notice under section 10 of Fugitive Economic Offenders Act have been satisfied, the court said.
Absconding diamond businessman Mehul Choksi and his nephew Nirav Modi are accused of siphoning off over Rs 23,780 crore from the PNB using fraudulent Letters of Undertaking (LoUs) and Foreign Letters of Credit (FLCs) by bribing its officials.
The special court had in 2019 declared Nirav Modi an FEO, while ED’s similar plea against Choksi is still pending.
Currently, Choksi is facing extradition proceedings in Belgium, while Nirav Modi is lodged in a London jail. PTI AVI NP BNM
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