NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Tuesday asked British national Maiank Mehta, brother-in-law of fugitive diamantaire Nirav Modi, to give within a week to the
CBI and Enforcement Directorate details of alleged routing of $ 40 million from the fugitive’s dummy companies through foreign bank accounts of Mehta, his wife and father-in-law.
A bench of CJI-designate D Y Chandrachud and Justice Hima Kohli asked senior advocate Amit Desai to tell his client to call upon the CBI and ED officials, in a joint meeting, and inform them of the steps he had taken to gather details of bank transactions the agencies are seeking in relation to their wider probe into alleged defrauding of banks by Nirav in India to the tune of Rs 23,780 crore through issuance of as many as 1214 letter of undertaking (LoUs).
Solicitor general Tushar Mehta said Nirav Modi’s Pacific Diamond transferred $30 million to Maiank Mehta’s Barclays Bank account in Singapore between November 13-26, 2013. Maiank transferred $ 20 million to the Barclays Bank account of his wife Purvi Modi, a Belgian national, on November 15, the same day Purvi opened four FCNR deposits of $ 20 million with Syndicate Bank Nariman Point, Mumbai. She declared that funds were gifted to her by husband.
“The stand of Maiank that the transfer of the monies to him (by Nirav’s company) was made by mistake by the accountant of Nirav is not true as these are clearly conscious steps taken to utilize and siphon the money received,” Mehta said.
He said the CBI has now found incriminating materials against the accused which have sufficiently established the role of Maiank and Purvi as co-conspirators of the crime. The SG said though the ED had made Maiank an approver, he has not cooperated and fully divulged the details of the conspiracy and routing of the monies.
Maiank had come to India in September last year to cooperate in the investigations against Nirav. Desai said that the way he is being not allowed to go abroad, it would deter many in future to turn approver, especially against a brother-in-law risking the family ties.
The CBI said Maiank must provide details of his Barclays bank and HSBC Bank accounts from 2011-2020. Desais said that these bank accounts were frozen by authorities there after the Indian agencies invoked Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty. He said the details from 2015 have already been given.
But the SC insisted that Maiank must give the desired details to the CBI and ED and at least appraise them of the steps taken by him in that regard. The court scheduled the next hearing for November 7.