During a CBI raid at Nirav Modi’s farmhouse in Alibaug. (Express)
THE ENFORCEMENT Directorate (ED) has so far provisionally attached 21 properties, currently worth Rs 523 crore, of diamond jeweller Nirav Modi and his associated firms in connection with the alleged Rs 13,000 crore fraudulent transactions routed through the Punjab National Bank (PNB).
Public records accessed by The Indian Express show that Modi’s most valuable asset seized by the agency is his 5,000 sq ft penthouse with an open terrace of 1,446 sq ft at Samudra Mahal building, at Worli in South Mumbai. The fair market value of the penthouse, as per a government approved valuer, is Rs 81.16 crore. This penthouse is owned by Modi and his wife, Ami Modi, and was bought by the couple on March 23, 2006 for Rs 34.38 crore.
A 5.247 MV solar power plant constructed on 53 acres of land at Karjat in Maharashtra is valued at Rs 70 crore. The plant, commissioned in 2012, belongs to Firestone Trading Pvt Ltd, a firm where Modi is a director.
A 15,645 sq ft office space at Mafatlal Centre, at Nariman Point in Mumbai, owned by Bentley Properties Pvt Ltd, a Nirav Modi Group firm, is worth Rs 54.75 crore. The office space was acquired by the firm in August 2006 at Rs 26.90 crore.
The list of seized properties includes a 6,000 sq ft farmhouse and land at Alibaug in Maharashtra, currently valued at Rs 42.70 crore. According to records, Nirav Modi Trust is the owner of the land since October 2003.
Two offices of over 10,000 sq ft, owned by Mak Business Enterprises Pvt Ltd, at Peninsula Business Park in Lower Parel, Mumbai, are worth Rs 40 crore and Rs 39.18 crore respectively. The firm acquired these two properties in March 2014 at Rs 25.18 crore and Rs 24.66 crore respectively.
The fair market value of the iconic Rhythm House, acquired by Modi’s firm Firestar Diamond International Pvt Ltd in March 2017, is pegged at Rs 32 crore, the same price at which Modi acquired it last year from Mehmood Curmally.
Modi and his uncle Mehul Choksi of Gitanjali Group have come under the scanner of multiple investigative agencies in the country for alleged fraudulent transactions and siphoning of funds, a charge that both have denied. Modi left India on January 1, while Choksi left the country on January 4. The Indian government has revoked their passports and the ED has obtained non-bailable arrest warrants against them.