Celebrity jeweller Nirav Modi, who left India just days before the CBI started investigating him in connection with a Rs. 11,300 crore Punjab National Bank (PNB) scam, has been traced to an apartment in New York's Manhattan. Sources have told NDTV that he is staying in a suite at JW Marriott's Essex House, a short walk away from his luxe Madison Avenue jewellery retail store.
Yesterday, the government said his passport would be revoked and "no one, no matter how big, would be spared".
Nirav Modi's apartment at JW Marriott's Essex House is a short walk away from his Madison Avenue store
The diamond billionaire left India on January 1 and was last seen in a group photo with Indian business leaders and Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Davos, taken on the sidelines of a summit on January 23.
NDTV accessed his upscale suite on the 36th floor, with a view of the Central Park, on Thursday afternoon. Staff at the apartment said Nirav Modi and his wife were out, only his children were home. "The news is only in India, he is safe in America right?" an employee questioned.
At the Madison Avenue showroom, employees gave this statement: "This matter has no affiliation, legal or otherwise with Firestar International Limited which is the flagship enterprise of Mr. Nirav Modi."
Nirav Modi, being investigated in PNB scam, is staying at a suite in JW Marriott's Essex House: sources
At the time of publishing this article, NDTV was waiting for a promised call from Nirav Modi's US management. NDTV has also reached out to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Department of Justice and State Department and is waiting for a response.
The bank scam was revealed when a consortium of companies related to Nirav Modi asked for fresh guarantees for overseas credit last month. When the bank asked for 100 per cent cash guarantees in exchange for Letters of Undertaking, the companies allegedly said they never did that before. On investigating, the bank uncovered Letters of Undertaking issued illegally by officials who had since retired. Letters of Undertaking are bank guarantees for lenders.
The CBI learnt that all four had gone abroad and issued a look-out circular in the first week of February.
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