Nehal Modi, the brother of fugitive diamond merchant Nirav Modi, has been arrested in the United States on the basis of an extradition request made by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED), news agency ANI quoted officials as saying.
Nehal Modi’s arrest, that happened on Friday, has come five years after he was charged with fraud for allegedly acquiring diamonds that were worth over $2.6 million, from one of the world’s largest diamond firms based in Manhattan.
News18 quoted sources as saying that Nehal had acquired the diamonds by making a false claim that they were meant for a deal at Costco. The deal never materialised. Nehal never followed up on the payment terms and instead went on to sell the diamonds for his own financial benefit.
The US prosecution’s complaint said that Nehal Modi is being sought on two specific charges: money laundering under Section 3 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, and criminal conspiracy under Sections 120-B and 201 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
CBI and ED have been involved in the investigation against Nehal in regard to the $2.6 million fraud case about the LLD Diamonds USA and the two probe agencies had made an extradition request - which finally led to Nehal Modi's arrest in the US on July 4.
Nehal's arrest comes as an important step in the probe related to the matter involving the diamonds.
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