Interpol likely to issue red-corner notices against Nirav Modi, Mehul Choksi in PNB scam

The process of issuing red-corner notices (RCNs) against fugitive diamond merchants Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi has begun.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has requested the Interpol to issue RCNs against Modi and Choksi. The notices are likely to be issued in the next 10 days.

Both Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi have been accused of swindling Punjab National Bank to the tune of Rs 12,600 crore by fraudulently acquiring letters of undertaking and foreign letters of credit.

A red-corner notice is a high-priority request to provisionally arrest an individual pending extradition. However, a member country may decide not to arrest the individual.

Sources in the Enforcement Directorate have said that the Ministry of External Affairs has cleared the RCN request and most likely it has reached the Interpol General Secretariat in Lyon, France.

ED has issued a non-bailable warrant thus setting in motion the process of bringing back to India the fugitive diamond merchants.

ED sources said that as per information shared by various agencies, Modi is hiding in Hong Kong and Choksi is in the United States.

ED has issued letters rogatory to both the countries and a response is awaited.

Letters rogatory are formal requests from a court to a foreign court for various kinds of legal help.