The Enforcement Directorate (ED), which recently succeeded in getting diamantaire Nirav Modi declared a fugitive economic offender is now set to confiscate his assets for auction. ED has already identified assets that can be sold smoothly.
"Enforcement Directorate has attached assets worth Rs 2,400 crores which will be auctioned,” a source close to the development told Moneycontrol.
Another source said, "On January 10, ED will file details relating to properties that are unsecured and where nobody has any claims, with a special court. The court has given ample time to identify assets that are not pledged.”
These assets include Nirav Modi’s apartment in one of Mumbai’s prominent housing society, Samudra Mahal, and 6-7 other real estate properties in South Mumbai. The Mumbai and Jaipur offices of Modi's company Firestar Diamond and jewellery worth over Rs 500 crore also may be put up for sale.
South Mumbai-based Rhythm House will also auction in this process.
Of the nearly Rs 25,000-crore worth Letters of Understanding (LoUs) issued to Nirav Modi by Punjab National Bank between 2011-18, nearly Rs 6,000 crores is still outstanding.
Recently, United Kingdom court rejected Nirav Modi’s bail plea.
Punjab National Bank had incurred a loss of over Rs 13,000 crores in fraudulent LoUs issued to Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi. The bank can now hope to get around Rs 2,400 crores from the sale of Modi’s assets soon.
ED will start seeking letters of interest on the assets put on sale and interested parties can then submit their claims in court.
Modi is only the second individual to be tagged as a fugitive economic offender after Vijay Mallya. However, it must be noted that the process of the sale of Mallya’s confiscated properties is still stuck in court.
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