Forbes drops Nirav from India's billionaire club

Billionaire jeweller and main accused in the alleged `12,700 crore Punjab National Bank fraud case,  Nirav Modi,  is no longer part of India's billionaires club.  Forbes magazine has dropped his name from India's billionaire club. In a related development, PNB managing director and CEO Sunil Mehta on Wednesday appeared before the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) to record his statement in the PNB fraud. The Delhi High Court also asked the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to file a response on a petition filed by Nirav Modi's company Firestar Diamond against the proceedings of agency.

"Nirav Modi is among the drop-offs from this year's the list, along with Papa John's Pizza founder John Schnatter, Christoffel Wiese of South Africa, and Saudi Arabia's Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Al Saud," Forbes said.

Modi, who had featured in Forbes' 2017 rich list with a fortune of USD 1.8 billion, could not make the cut in this year's rankings. Forbes said India's billionaire count has increased over last year. According to Forbes, India is home to 119 billionaires, 18 more than last year and the total net worth of this elite club is USD 440.1 billion, a rise of USD 114.6 billion over the year ago period. Forbes' website describes Modi as the founder of Firestar Diamond, "which claimed to have more than USD 2 billion in sales. He later launched his own Nirav Modi Brand with 14 stores in such locations as Mumbai, Hong Kong, London, Macau and New York".

Mehta's appearance before the SFIO follows its meeting with executives of at least two other banks on Tuesday. Mehta and PNB's executive director K V Brahmaji Rao were last month called by the CBI in connection with the alleged fraud.

Meanwhile, the  Delhi High Court on Wednesday asked the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to file a response on a petition filed by Nirav Modi's company Firestar Diamond against the roceedings of agency. It also sought a copy of the search warrant and other documents related to searches and seizures by the ED.

The Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council said that it will suspend Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi from the council in case they fail to respond to its notices over the PNB fraud by Friday.,"