Interpol has issued a red corner notice (RCN) against Purvi Modi, a Belgian national and absconding billionaire jeweller Nirav Modi’s sister, in connection with the alleged 13,000 crores PNB scam, officials said Monday.
The notice, which was requested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), and which also acts as an international arrest warrant, states that Purvi Deepak Modi, 44, is required on charges of ‘money laundering’.
An official from the department reportedly said that the ED wants her to join the investigation as this would help the department to take the investigation forward. Purvi Modi is accused of helping her brother to launder the money from the PNB scam. she was named by the ED in their first charge sheet filed in March.
Once a Red Corner Notice (RCN) is issued against a fugitive, Interpol asks its 192 member countries to arrest or detain the person if he/she is spotted in their territory so as the extradition or deportation process can begin.
A similar notice was recently issued against Mihir R Bhansali, a top executive of Nirav Modi’s US business concern, who is a co-accused in the PNB case and has also been absconding.
A few months back, the International Criminal Police Organization more commonly known as Interpol had issued a similar red corner notice against the absconding Nirav Modi in connection with the Punjab National Bank Scam.
The Modi government has been in relentless pursuit of Nirav Modi, the diamond tycoon who rocked the nation in February 2018 with a scam that amounted to around Rs 13000 crores. The case pertains to cheating the state-run Punjab National Bank through the fraudulent issuance of Letters of Undertaking (LoU) and Foreign Letters of Credit worth over USD 2 billion (about Rs 13,000 crore) by Nirav Modi and his uncle Mehul Choksi, both absconding since the first week of January. Nirav Modi has been traced to the UK while Mehul Choksi is reportedly residing in Antigua, after getting citizenship status.
