ED to seize Nirav Modi’s properties worth 500 crore

Hiten Venegaokar and Arvind Aghav, counsel for the ED, had argued for the confiscation of Modi's 48 properties, valued at 929 crores, under the FEO Act.

Digital Desk: On Wednesday, a special court under the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act granted the Enforcement Directorate (ED) permission to seize Nirav Modi's 39 properties worth Rs. 500 crores.

The court also granted the Punjab National Bank's (PNB) claim over nine properties worth 424 crores that were mortgaged with the bank for credit facilities. These include properties in New York's Central Park, his bank account, and valuables such as jewelry and watches, all of which were covered by Modi's personal guarantee.

Hiten Venegaokar and Arvind Aghav, counsel for the ED, had argued for the confiscation of Modi's 48 properties, valued at 929 crores, under the FEO Act.

PNB, a victim of Modi and his companies' alleged fraud, sought nine properties under an order dated September 6, 2021, claiming they were hypothecated with the bank.

The special judge, SM Menjoge, granted the petition for confiscation of the other properties worth 500 crores, which included valuables recovered by the ED and money held by Modi and his companies in various accounts in foreign banks (see box). The list also includes properties whose values are unknown, such as immovable assets stored in his farmhouse in Alibaug.

The court ruled that the bank can pursue its claim through the appropriate authorities, tribunals, or courts.

The special FEO court has allowed the confiscation of Modi's properties and businesses for the second time.

After Modi was declared a fugitive economic offender, the ED sought to seize properties worth Rs. 1,396.07 crore that it claimed he purchased or owned with proceeds of crime.

On December 5, 2019, Modi was declared FEO under the new law, and the court began the process of confiscating his properties. The court denied him the right to intervene in the proceedings but allowed the banks to be heard.

While declaring him a fugitive economic offender, the special court had earlier observed that Modi left the country under suspicious circumstances to "dodge the penal consequences of the acts he has done or committed while in India till the year 2017".