Court allows ED to seize Nirav Modi's assets worth Rs 500cr

A special court on Wednesday allowed the ED to confiscate around 39 properties of fugitive businessman Nirav Modi worth Rs 500 crore. Additionally, Punjab National Bank's plea seeking nine properties worth Rs 424 crore that were mortgaged or hypothecated by Modi and his companies was allowed, reports Rebecca Samervel.

The properties the ED will confiscate include 12 immovable properties attached to Rhythm House at Kalaghoda, consignments seized by agencies when in transit, amounts parked in several bank accounts held outside the country and valuables seized from Modi's Alibaug bungalow. They include 22 cars, including a Mercedes and a Bentley, and the ED could now auction them.

In June 2020, in the first order of confiscation under the Fugitive Economic Offenders (FEO) Act, 2018, the court had directed that Modi's properties be attached by the ED. However, it had exempted properties secured to PNB and a consortium of banks either through mortgage, hypothecation or personal guarantee. Modi was declared an FEO in December 2019.