Nirav Modi Probe: Investigators Get Court Permit To Ask 6 Countries For Help

Agencies
February 27, 2018

New Delhi, Feb 27:  The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has summoned Punjab National Bank's (PNB) Managing Director and CEO Sunil Mehta in connection with the Rs. 11,400 crore PNB scam allegedly involving diamantaire Nirav Modi and owner of Gitanjali Gems Mehul Choksi, officials said today.

The ED today also examined the state-owned bank's Executive Director KV Brahmaji Rao to understand how the alleged fraud was detected and other banking procedures.

Mehta, officials said, will be asked similar questions when he meets ED officials this week. They said the two officials are not being examined as accused.

The CBI had examined the two senior PNB officials last week in the same case.

Meanwhile, diamond merchant Modi, his wife Ami and uncle Choksi today skipped their scheduled appearance before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in Mumbai.

It was not immediately known if the agency will issue fresh dates to them.

If it does not issue them fresh summons, it is understood, the ED is expected to move a special court in Mumbai seeking non-bailable arrest warrants against them.

The agency today also obtained the court's nod to issue six Letters Rogatories (LRs), judicial requests for obtaining information from overseas locations, pertaining to its probe against Modi.

The agency is expected to obtain more such LRs in this case.

The LRs issued today will be sent, through the Union home ministry, to Hong Kong, the US, the UK, the UAE, South Africa and Singapore.

The attempt of sending these judicial requests for exchange of information is aimed at obtaining the details of the overseas financial holdings of Modi and Choksi and also their bank accounts, assets, partnerships, showrooms, trusts and other assets, the officials said.

These assets and their sources of income will be investigated and if necessary would be attached under the criminal sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) if it is found that they have been created using tainted funds or the proceeds of crime of the alleged bank fraud, the sources had said.

The total assets seized by the ED in this case is now over Rs. 6,393 crore, officials had said, adding that this was being independently valued.

Modi, Choksi and others are being investigated by the ED and other probe agencies after the fraud recently came to light, following a complaint by the PNB that they allegedly cheated the nationalised bank to the tune of Rs. 11,400 crore, with the purported involvement of a few employees of the bank.

The CBI and the ED have registered two First Information Reports or FIRs each to probe the case. Both Modi and Choski are said to have left the country before criminal cases were lodged against them.

The ED, a central probe agency under the Union finance ministry, is investigating if the allegedly defrauded bank funds were laundered and proceeds of crime were subsequently used by the accused to create illegal assets and black money.

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News Network
November 16,2024

Mangaluru: The Kavoor police in Mangaluru, Karnataka, have arrested three individuals from Kerala in connection with two separate cybercrime cases, including one involving extortion under the guise of a "digital arrest."

City Commissioner of Police Anupam Agrawal reported that one of the arrested individuals, Nisar, a resident of Ernakulam district, posed as a CBI officer. He allegedly threatened the complainant with arrest and extorted Rs 68 lakh. A case has been filed under sections 66 (C) and 66 (D) of the IT Act, and sections 308 (2) and 381 (4) of BNS.

In another case, the Kavoor police arrested two men, Sahil K P of Thiruvannur, Kozhikode, and Muhammad Nashath of Mappila Koyilandy, Kerala, in connection with a share trade fraud. The accused are alleged to have deceived the complainant by promising substantial profits from an investment in the stock market. Trusting the fraudsters, the complainant invested Rs 90 lakh, which was subsequently lost. A case has been registered under sections 66 (C) and 66 (D) of the IT Act, and sections 318 (4) and 3 (5) of BNS.

The accused were arrested in Koyilandi and presented before the court. The operation was carried out under the guidance of City Police Commissioner Anupam Agrawal, led by Mangaluru North Sub-Division ACP Srikanth K, Kavoor Inspector Raghavendra Byndoor, Kavoor PSI Mallikarjuna Biradara, and staff members Ramanna Shetty, Bhuvaneshwari, Rajappa Kashibai, Praveen N, and Malatesh. 

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News Network
November 12,2024

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The UN humanitarian coordinator for Lebanon has warned that the “picture of life in Lebanon remains grim,” highlighting an "alarming" level of human suffering and significant humanitarian consequences due to the ongoing Israeli carnage.

Imran Riza, the UN Deputy Special Coordinator and Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Lebanon (UNSCOL), provided a stark overview of the Arab country's dire circumstances in a statement released on Monday.

“The current picture of life in Lebanon remains grim. Yesterday, airstrikes reportedly killed 23 people, including seven children, in the village of Aalmat in Mount Lebanon,” Riza said on X.

An airstrike in the city of Tyre on the same day resulted in the tragic deaths of five siblings from a single family, all of whom had special needs, according to his statement.

He added that in the last week, Israeli airstrikes have killed at least 241 individuals and left 642 others injured in Lebanon, as reported by the Ministry of Health.

“In the past month, more than 185,000 people have fled their homes in their search for safety within the country, bringing the total to over 870,000 people internally displaced,” Riza said

The UN official highlighted that numerous individuals, including the elderly and those with health issues, are staying behind while witnessing the ruins of their ancestral homes.

He urged for the swift safeguarding of civilian people and infrastructure, emphasizing the necessity to uphold international humanitarian law and end the ongoing violence.

Lebanon’s National News Agency reported that Israeli forces bombed a house in the town of Maydoun in Bekaa on Monday night, killing three people and destroying the house.

Earlier, Israel bombed the northern town of Ain Yaaqoub, killing at least 14 people.

The killings came as Israeli military continued to pound Lebanon, bombing shops selling electrical appliances in the southern city of Tyre and carrying out air raids on the towns of Shamshtar in eastern Baalbek and Roumine in southern Nabatieh.

Lebanon’s Ministry of Health said Israeli attacks killed at least 54 people across the country on Monday.

Israel’s merciless attacks continue despite calls from the UN Security Council for an immediate ceasefire and directives from the International Court of Justice urging measures to prevent genocide and alleviate the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza and Lebanon.

In Lebanon, at least 3,243 people have been killed and 14,134 others wounded in Israeli attacks since the war on Gaza began on October 7, 2023.

The Lebanese resistance movement Hezbollah opened a support front for Palestinians in Gaza only a day after the Israeli regime unleashed its genocidal war on the besieged territory.

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News Network
November 26,2024

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Bengaluru: The Janata Dal (Secular) is grappling with its most tumultuous political crisis yet, with speculation rife about imminent defections among its lawmakers. This storm comes in the aftermath of party scion Nikhil Kumaraswamy's humiliating defeat in the Channapatna bypoll—his third consecutive electoral loss after setbacks in Mandya (2019) and Ramanagara (2023). With the regional party’s Assembly tally shrinking to 18 from 19, questions are being raised about its survival.

The murmurs of rebellion were amplified on Monday when Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao and Congress MLA CP Yogeshwar openly hinted at possible desertions within the JD(S) ranks. Yogeshwar, newly elected from Channapatna, declared he could orchestrate a migration of JD(S) MLAs to Congress. “I’ll meet them at the Belagavi session. Within a month, they’ll be in Congress,” he confidently stated during a televised interview. Yogeshwar has a history of engineering defections, having played a pivotal role in the collapse of the JD(S)-Congress coalition government in 2019 during his stint with the BJP.

Dinesh Gundu Rao, not mincing words, slammed the JD(S) leadership for fostering "self-serving politics," criticizing the HD Deve Gowda family for failing to nurture party talent. “There’s no trust. Their MLAs will seek survival—either in BJP or Congress,” he remarked.

Meanwhile, the expelled JD(S) state president CM Ibrahim added fuel to the fire by claiming that 12-13 MLAs are "disillusioned" with the current leadership. Speculations around senior JD(S) leader GT Deve Gowda joining Congress have also intensified. DK Shivakumar, Karnataka’s Deputy CM and Congress president, described GT Deve Gowda as a “valuable leader” who might be frustrated with the party’s internal dynamics.

While Congress leaders seem eager to poach JD(S) legislators, the BJP is not far behind in targeting the floundering party. The situation signals a decisive moment for the JD(S), as its survival now hinges on how it manages this brewing storm of discontent.

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