Facing imminent arrest, Nirav Modi refuses to answer questions

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Facing an imminent arrest, diamantaire Nirav Modi refused to answer questions posed to him by reporters at London’s Oxford Street on March 18.

To repeated questions by reporters, Modi answered: “no comment”.

He is accused of defrauding Punjab National Bank (PNB) to the tune of over Rs 13,000 crore.

A London court on March 18 issued an arrest warrant against Modi, the main accused in the PNB scam case, in response to an Enforcement Directorate (ED) request for his extradition in a money laundering case.

Nirav Modi is expected to be put under formal arrest by the local police soon.

#EXCLUSIVE – CNN-News18’s @sanjaysuri88 tracks down Nirav Modi at Oxford Street in London. Fugitive billionaire Nirav Modi refuses to answer any questions again. | #BringBackNiravModi pic.twitter.com/yYdaG6mv8h

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— News18 (@CNNnews18) March 19, 2019

The ED and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) are investigating Modi, his uncle Mehul Choksi and others for alleged money laundering and corruption to perpetrate the alleged scam in the Brady House branch of the PNB in Mumbai that was unearthed in early 2018.

Modi, 48, is currently living in a three-bedroom flat occupying half of a floor of the landmark Centre Point tower block in London, where rent is estimated to cost 17,000 pounds a month, The Telegraph of the UK had reported.

He has been chargesheeted by both the agencies and the ED has also attached his assets worth Rs 1,873.08 crore under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), and has also seized assets linked to him and his family worth Rs 489.75 crore.