Vijay Mallya is accused of defrauding a consortium of banks, including the State Bank of India. Nirav Modi and his uncle Mehul Choksi are both wanted of fraud at the Punjab National Bank (PNB) worth 14,500 crores.
The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) on Tuesday transferred assets worth 8,441 crore yen to banks that suffered losses due to fraud by Vijay Mallya, Nirav Modi, and Mehul Choksi. The three fugitives cheated public sector banks by 22,586 crores, of which 80.45% (18,170 crores) was seized/seized by the ED, the agency said in a statement.
With the latest transfer, assets worth 9,371 crores have been turned over to banks so far, accounting for 40% of their losses, the agency said. These include assets worth 329.67 crores that were confiscated, the agency added.
The ED said it discovered the money trail by exposing a network of domestic and international transactions and hiding assets abroad. The investigation revealed that the three defendants used bogus entities controlled by them for the rotation and siphoning of funds provided by banks, he said.
The agency also said extradition requests have been sent to countries where the three defendants live. While Mallya and Modi live in London (UK), Choksi chose Antigua and Barbuda after fleeing India.
Mallya was denied leave to appeal to the UK Supreme Court, making his extradition to India almost final. While Modi’s extradition to India has also been allowed, Choksi is waging a legal battle in Antigua to prevent the court from sending him to India.
Mallya and Modi have been declared fugitive economic offenders by India’s PMLA court, which deals with money laundering cases.
While Mallya is accused of defrauding a consortium of banks over 9,000 crores involving his late Kingfisher Airlines, Modi and his uncle Choksi are wanted in connection with the Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud worth ₹ 14,500 crores.
Modi was arrested on March 19, 2019, and was held at Wandsworth Prison in London. From prison, he appeared at the hearings via video link as the case had dragged on for years. Once extradited, Modi will be held at Arthur Road Prison in Mumbai, which kept a special cell ready for him at Barracks 12. If he is housed in this barracks, prepared earlier for Vijay Mallya, Modi is likely to get three square meters of personal space, where a cotton mat, pillow, sheet, and blanket will be provided, according to reports.
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