LONDON: The Rs 58 crore luxury apartment in London owned by Nirav Modi’s sister Purvi, which has been seized by the ED, is registered in the name of an offshore trust exposed in the Panama and
Paradise papers.
103, Marathon House, 200
Marylebone Road is on the 13th and 14th floors of a large block of apartments in Marylebone Road close to Baker Street station, famous for its connection to the fictional detective Sherlock Holmes and not far from Lord’s cricket ground and
Madame Tussauds.
A copy of the title deeds show the leasehold flat was purchased on December 20, 2017 for £6,250,000 (Rs 58 crore) in cash — without any mortgage — by Belvedere Holdings Groups Ltd, which is incorporated in the
British Virgin Islands (BVI), care of Trident Trust Company (Singapore) Pte Limited, Trident Chambers, PO Box 146 Road Town, Tortola, BVI.
Belvedere Holdings Ltd is named in the
Panama Papers and linked to a Hong Kong intermediary, Intertrust Hong Kong Ltd, which is connected to 251 entities in the Panama Papers.
Trident Chambers, meanwhile, is named in the Paradise Papers. It is, ironically, situated within a fourminute walk from Westminster magistrates’ court where Nirav’s extradition trial would take place.
The Harrods Estate brochure describes the four-bedroom, four-bathroom, duplex 4,079 square feet apartment as luxurious and newly renovated, “boasting magnificent views across London’s skyline” with bright and spacious open-plan living space, with under-floor heating, communal gym air-conditioning and underground parking with room for up to five cars.
The ED issued a statement on Monday saying that it has seized No 103, Marathon House under Section 5 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act and the property “is beneficially owned by Purvi Modi”.
“This property was purchased on the name of Belvedere Holdings Group Limited which is managed by Trident Trust, Singapore, and has been established by Monte Cristo Trust. During probe, it has been revealed that the ultimate source of the funds used to purchase this property was stolen funds from PNB,” the ED stated.
