Enforcement Directorate brings back diamonds, pearls worth Rs 1350 crore owned by Nirav Modi, Mehul Choksi's firms from Hong Kong

New Delhi: In a major breakthrough, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday brought back over 2,300 kg of polished diamonds and pearls and other valuable estimated to be worth Rs 1,350 crore of firms belonging to absconding businessmen Nirav Modi and his uncle Mehul Choksi from Hong Kong.

According to Zee Media sources, out of the 108 consignments that landed at Mumbai, 32 belong to overseas entities "controlled" by Nirav Modi while the rest are owned by Mehul Choksi’s firms.

ED नीरव मोदी और मेहुल चौकसी के 1350 करोड़ रुपये के हीरे-जवाहारात और मोती जैसे कीमती सामान को हांगकांग से जब्त कर वापिस भारत ले आयी है। दोनों आरोपियों ने इस सामान को साल 2018 में दुबई से हांगकांग भेज दिया था और तब से ही ED इस सामान को वापिस भारत लाने की कोशिश कर रही थी।

— Jitender Sharma (@capt_ivane) June 10, 2020

The valuables include polished diamonds, pearls and silver jewellery, and is worth Rs 1,350 crore.

These items belonging to Nirav Modi and Mehul Chowki were shifted to Dubai and when the agency started investigation against PNB scam accused Nirav Modi and Mehul Chowki, they sent these items from Dubai to Hong Kong.

ED had earlier confiscated a lot of goods from India, but these goods worth 1350 crores reached Hong Kong.

The agency got to know that Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi were sending some valuable items from Dubai to Hong Kong in July 2018, and since then, there has been a continuous communication between the agency and the Hong Kong government to bring these items back to India.

The ED completed "all legal formalities" with authorities in Hong Kong to bring back these valuables, the agency said in a press release.

These valuable items will formally be seized under the PMLA now, the central financial crime probe agency said.

Both the businessmen are being probed by the ED under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in connection with an over USD 2 billion alleged bank fraud at a PNB branch in Mumbai.

It may be noted that Nirav Modi is currently lodged in London jail and Mehul Chauksi has taken Antigua citizenship and is hiding there. 

Two days earlier, on June 8 itself, the Special PMLA court in Mumbai ordered the seizure of Nirav Modi's property worth Rs 1,400 crore.