ED brings back polished diamonds, pearls worth Rs 1,350 cr belonging to Nirav Modi, Mehul Choksi firms from Hong Kong

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday said it has brought back over 2,300 kg of valuables worth Rs 1350 crore from Hong Kong, belonging to firms of Punjab National Bank (PNB) scam accused Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi.

These valuables include polished diamonds, pearls and silver jewellery and were kept in the godown of a logistics company in Hong Kong and were brought in 108 consignments to Mumbai, the ED said.

While 32 consignments belong to overseas entities in the UAE and Hong Kong "controlled" by fugitive diamantaire Nirav Modi the rest are of Mehul Choksi firms, the agency said in a statement.

Both Choksi and Modi are being probed by the ED under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in connection with an over Rs 13,000 alleged PNB fraud.

The ED statement said that it completed "all legal formalities" with authorities in Hong Kong to bring back these valuables weighing 2340 kg.

They were moved to Hong Kong from Dubai in early 2018 so that they could be saved from being seized or attached by the ED or any other investigating agency, it said.

Inputs regarding its movement were received in July that year and since then the ED was on its trail.

"The officers were continuously engaged in discussion with various authorities in Hong Kong to bring these valuables back to India. Various modalities were finalised and after completing all the legal formalities these consignments have now been brought back to India," it said.

These valuables will be formally seized by the agency under the PMLA.

Earlier, the agency had brought back 33 consignments of valuables from Dubai and Hong Kong. They were subsequently seized in India and an independent valuer assessed them to be worth around Rs 137 crore.

On June 8, a special PMLA court in Mumbai allowed the confiscation of assets worth Rs 1,400 crore owned by Modi under the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act (FEOA).

Nirav Modi was declared fugitive offender on December 5, 2019. Last year, he was arrested in London and is presently in a UK prison after his several bail applications were rejected.