New Dellhi:
A close associate of celebrity jeweller Nirav Modi and a top executive of his firm have been arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in a money laundering case. Nirav Modi is key accused in Rs. 14,500 crore Punjab National Bank scam.
Shyam Sunder Wadhwa, vice president of Firestar Group was arrested, the agency said.
Several other top executives of Nirav Modi's firms were arrested in February and a
re now in judicial custody. A special CBI court on Monday had allowed the Enforcement Directorate's plea seeking permission to interrogate employees of the Nirav Modi group firms who are in judicial custody in the alleged Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud.
Six people have been arrested so far in the PNB fraud case.
Vipul Ambani, President, Finance, at Firestar International; Kavita Mankikar, Executive Assistant and Authorised Signatory of the three firms of Nirav Modi and Arjun Patil, senior executive of the Firestar Group and two others are in judicial custody.
Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi had fled the country in January, long before the cover was blown off their fraud at the country's second largest bank. Investigators say firms owned by them have illegally taken crores in loans, without offering any mortgage or having adequate balance in accounts.
Two central agencies - the Central Bureau of Investigation and the Enforcement Directorate - are investigating the matter. Last month, both Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi responded to CBI's summons, saying they won't be able to join the investigation because their passports have been suspended.