On October 15, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York rejected his and his associates’ request to dismiss the fraud charges against them. This was another setback for the fugitive diamond dealer Nirav Modi. Basically, Firestar Diamond, Inc., Fantasy, Inc. and A. Jaffe, Inc.-three U.S. companies indirectly owned by Modi, sought protection under the bankruptcy law approximately one month after the Punjab National Bank filed a lawsuit against him and other entities Large-scale bank fraud. After failing to sell the debtor’s assets, the court appointed Richard Levin as the trustee of the aforementioned company in mid-2018.
Levine filed a lawsuit in March 2019 against Nirav Modi, Mihir Bhansali, who is the director and chief executive officer of these companies, and Ajay Gandhi, who is their chief financial officer. The company and its assets have a 6-year “extensive international fraud, money laundering and embezzlement scheme”.
In Wandsworth Prison in the United Kingdom, Modi was accused of being the main beneficiary of the fraudulent issuance of a pledge, which was part of a conspiracy to defraud PNB of up to Rs 13,570 crore. The court held that the complainant’s argument was reasonable.
“Although the revised complaint described bank fraud against PNB, it also accused the defendant of direct fraud against the debtor.”
In a clear prosecution against Modi, it added: “The defendant’s obstructive behavior apparently contributed to the ongoing fraudulent plan at the time, rather than merely covering up the previously completed plan, thereby satisfying the continuity requirements for the establishment of the model. RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations).” The US court instructed the trustee Richard Levine to submit a proposed order and serve copies of it to the lawyers of all three defendants.
News Source : Republicworld.com
