New Delhi: In a major development in the multi-crore PNB scam, the fugitive diamond merchant, Nirav Modi, who owes over the Rs 13,700-crore, has been tracked down in London, where he is involved in a new diamond business, a British newspaper The Telegraph reported on Friday after confronting him in a busy street.
Reports suggest that he is staying in a three bedroom flat in a chic street in Central London with views spanning across the city. The Telegraph says the rent for a property like that would be approximately $17,000 a month.
A two-minute video of the street encounter posted on Twitter provided the first visuals of Nirav Modi in London since he fled India in 2018. In the clip, he refuses to answer whether he had applied for political asylum in the UK.
“Sorry, no comment”, he said.
Moreover, in the video Nirav Modi was seen wearing a black Jacket made from Ostrich hide and costs a whopping Rs.10 lakhs approximately.
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Earlier on Friday, the Raigad administration completely demolished the sprawling seaside mansion of fugitive diamantaire Nirav Modi in the district. Thirty kilos of explosives were used by the authorities.
On Tuesday, excavators were used to open up the pillars of the bungalow, called Roopanya, to make space for fixing the detonators. A special technical team was called to fix them.
Nirav Modi is the prime accused in the Rs 13,400 crore PNB scam. He and his uncle Mehul Choksi are being investigated by the agencies for their role in the scam.
The scam, which reportedly began in 2011, was detected in January this year, after which PNB officials reported it to the probe agencies. Two criminal complaints were filed by the ED in this regard after taking cognisance of CBI FIRs.
Video Courtesy: The Telegraph