The I-T Department on Thursday attached properties worth Rs 1,200 crore of Gitanjali Group located in Special Economic Zone, Hyderabad, while the ED seized a fleet of nine luxury cars of billionaire Nirav Modi. The ED also froze shares and mutual funds worth Rs 7.80 crore of Nirav Modi and Rs 86.73 crore of Gitanjali Group promoter Mehul Choksi in connection with the Rs 11,400-crore Punjab National Bank fraud case.

The cars included a Rolls Royce Ghost, two Mercedes Benz GL Class, one Porsche Panamera, three high-end Honda cars, Toyota Fortuner and one Toyota Innova.

The total seizure in the case is now Rs 5,826 crore, which the agency has said is being independently valued.

As the searches on the premises of the groups continued for the eighth day by the ED on Thursday, Income Tax Department officials said property worth Rs 1,200 crore of the Gitanjali Group located in SEZ in Hyderabad has been attached in a fresh action.

In a related development, ED has issued fresh summons against Modi, after he failed to appear and depose before it. ED sources said that Modi had replied to the ED’s investigating officer (IO), who is probing the PNB fraud case, that his passport has been temporary suspended. Besides, pending business issues are the reason behind his non-appearance. Modi was summoned by the ED under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

Sources said ED investigators have stepped up their action against the suspected shell firms linked to Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi.

On the other hand, the CBI in its investigation, found that the practice of illegally issuing Letters of Undertaking (LoUs) and Foreign Letter of Credit (FLCs) and then rolling them over to favour Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi groups started in 2008 and continued till these were discovered in January this year. The officials said they merely continued with the practice that started in 2008. It was not immediately clear who was in charge of the Forex Department when the illegal practice began.

In the meantime, the CBI probing the case related to Modi and Choksi are questioning PNB bank officers and Modi employees to understand the modus operandi adopted by Modi. The three top arrested employees on Modi were also unable explain the investigators about the modus operandi used by their employer. The modus operandi and the role of three top Modi’s employees into the scam has not yet been established by the CBI.

Though his whereabouts are still unknown, the agencies wants to cripple Modi’s empire in India before zeroing in on his properties across Hong Kong, Belgium and Dubai. On the question regarding whereabouts of Nirav Modi, Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said that the matter should be addressed to the law enforcement agencies. He added there are certain investigations and legal procedures which need to be completed before MEA comes into the picture. On the question regarding, the notice to Modi, the spokesperson said that the request had been received to send notice to a particular email id. Accordingly the notice was sent to the email id as requested.

Meanwhile, the PNB in a statement has stated that 1,415 employees after the scam involving Rs 11,400 crore, using fake LoUs to diamond jeweller Nirav Modi and associates, surfaced earlier this month. “...The Bank has transferred 257 sub staff, 437 clerks and 721 officers (total 1,415 employees) since February 19, 2018, as per prevailing Rotational Transfer Policy of the Bank,” PNB said in a statement.