NEW DELHI: Billionaire jeweller Nirav Modi, one of the prime accused in the country’s largest ever bank fraud, denies allegations levelled against him by Punjab National Bank (PNB), his lawyer said on Tuesday.
“There is nothing, there is nothing in it,” Vijay Aggarwal, a lawyer representing Modi said, referring to a police complaint filed by the state-run bank that says companies linked to the jeweller and his relatives received credit worth close to $1.8 billion between 2011 and 2017, using false guarantees supplied by two bank officials.
India’s financial crime fighting agency, one of the several that are investigating the fraud at the country’s second largest state lender, is probing more than 100 shell companies suspected to have been used by Modi and others to route funds, a government source said on Tuesday. Aggarwal, speaking by telephone, declined to comment on Modi’s whereabouts. Officials are on the lookout for Modi and his family, who police say left India in January prior to the case being filed.
“Everything is documented,” Aggarwal said of Modi’s dealings with PNB, adding that the bank had regularly levied fees on its dealings with the jeweller’s firms.
According to the police complaint, the two officials at a Mumbai branch of PNB fraudulently steered credit to firms linked to Modi and entities tied to jewellery retailer Gitanjali Gems , led by Modi’s uncle, Mehul Choksi.
“They’re covering themselves up,” Aggarwal said referring to the PNB complaint.”They want to avoid liability... that is why they are cooking up this story.”
Asked about his legal strategy, Aggarwal said there was no strategy while no charges have been laid.”When there’s a chargesheet, there will be a strategy,” he said.
Choksi, who has also left the country, has not commented on the matter. Gitanjali, in a regulatory filing, denied Choksi’s involvement in the alleged fraud.
PNB did not immediately respond to the lawyer’s comments.
The fraud case has stunned financial markets and wiped off $1.7 billion, or more than a quarter, of PNB’s market value.
The stock ended little changed on Tuesday after falling in the past four sessions. Separately, in a letter to PNB officials, Modi stated that his companies owed the bank less than Rs 50 billion ($775.25 million), much lower than the amount alleged by the bank. — Reuters
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