Nirav Modi and his uncle Mehul Choksi are accused of faking state-run lender pledges for overseas loans
The Enforcement Directorate today seized four Swiss bank accounts belonging to fugitive Nirav Modi and his sister, Purvi Modi. The accounts contained a total of Rs 283.16 crores. Swiss authorities froze the accounts after a request from the Enforcement Directorate, who confirmed the money represented "proceeds of a crime".
A senior official told news agency IANS that letters had been sent to foreign authorities to enforce the order.
Nirav Modi, 48 is currently lodged in Wandsworth prison in south-west London. He is due to appear today, via video conference, for a remand hearing before a magistrates' court.
The Enforcement Directorate's action comes after a supplementary chargesheet was filed in February against Nirav Modi's wife, Ami Modi, for being the alleged beneficiary in the $30 million purchase of two apartments in New York City.
The apartments were part of Rs 637 crore in foreign properties seized in October. A flat in London worth Rs 56.97 crore was also seized.
Today's appearance will mark the first time Nirav Modi will appear in court since his appeal for bail was turned down by the High Court earlier this month. The appeal was his fourth and, in her judgment, Justice Ingrid Simler said there were "substantial grounds" to believe he would fail to surrender as he possessed means to "abscond".
Nirav Modi was arrested in March by Scotland Yard officers carrying an extradition warrant. He has fought his transfer to India since, arguing that he had arrived in the UK before he was accused of any crime in India. He has declared that he is a lawful resident of Britain, where he holds a job and pays taxes on a salary of 20,000 pounds per month.
In a hearing in May, the UK courts directed the Indian government to confirm, within 14 days, the prison in which he would be held, were he to be extradited. Chief Magistrate Emma Arbuthnot, who also heard the extradition case of Vijay Mallya, said Arthur Road Jail in Mumbai would be the "obvious candidate".
Nirav Modi and his uncle Mehul Choksi are the prime accused in a scam that involved fake guarantees in the name of the state-run lender to secure loans overseas. Both left India in January 2018 before the CBI started investigations.
However, in a setback for Choksi, Antigua Prime Minister Gaston Browne yesterday said the 59-year-old's citizenship of the island nation would be revoked once all his legal options had been exhausted.
With inputs from IANS, PTI