Can't provide Info on Nirav Modi's passport due to privacy clause: MEA

Want to understand how exactly billionaire jeweller Nirav Modi managed to travel around the world despite his passport being “cancelled”? Well, a Right to Information query to the Ministry of External affairs will not yield any answers.

Ever since he left India, Nirav Modi has reportedly been travelling through various countries, even as his passport was under suspension and eventually cancelled.

In June, an RTI query with multiple questions was submitted to the ministry to unravel the mystery of Nirav’s international travel itinerary despite him being a fugitive.

The questions were whether the MEA knew Nirav’s passport number, the date of its suspension, details of his multiple passport booklets, including issuing authority, if he held them. There were also queries about the route that Nirav Modi had travelled to flee India, whether Indian passport can be used to trace a person’s route and if the ministry had used this method. Lastly, MEA was asked whether it was aware of Nirav Modi’s location in June.

Banking fraud fallout: Court allows ED to grill those held in PNB case

A special CBI court today allowed the Enforcement Directorate's plea seeking permission to interrogate employees of the Nirav Modi group firms who are in judicial custody in the alleged Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud.

"The ED's plea is allowed," said special CBI judge S R Tamboli.

The agency had last week approached the court seeking its nod to question some of the accused, arrested by the CBI, who are in judicial custody at present.

The accused are lodged in high security Arthur Road Jail in Mumbai.

"We had sought permission saying that we have registered a case and we want to interrogate them," said an ED official.

The ED had sought permission to interrogate Vipul Ambani (president, Finance, Fire Star Diamond--a Nirav Modi group firm), Manish Bosamiya (then assistant general manager, Operation, of Firestar International Pvt. Ltd), Miten Pandia (then Financial Manager at Firestar International), Sanjay Rambhia (Auditor of Nirav Modi group), Vipul Chatalia (Vice President, Banking operations, Firestar) and Kavita Mankikar (executive assistant and authorised signatory of Diamond R US, Stellar Diamond, and Solar Exports).

Another bank fraud? Borrowers misuse SBI loan of Rs 32 mn to produce a film

In yet another fraud on a public sector bank, as many as 13 people including a kabaddi player got a loan of Rs 32.9 million for buying top-end cars, but 'misused' the money for producing a Tamil film.
When the fraud came to light, the Madras High Court, on a plea from the State Bank of India (SBI), granted an interim injunction against the movie's release.

The fraud was done with the connivance of an auto loan counsellor who allegedly hacked the bank's computers to facilitate the loan sanction and its disbursement.

Justice C V Karthikeyan passed the interim order on a civil suit of the lender restraining White Screen Productions (WSP) from releasing the movie till March 16, 2018.

PNB scam: Court issues non-bailable warrants against Nirav Modi, Choksi

A special court on Saturday issued non-bailable warrants (NBWs) against diamond traders Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi in the alleged Rs 114 billion Punjab National Bank scam.
The court, set up under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), issued the NBWs on applications filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), one of the agencies probing the bank fraud cases registered last month.

The ED had earlier issued summonses to Modi and Choksi, both key accused in the scam cases, asking them to appear before the central agency.

However, the two diamond traders, who are said to have left the country before criminal cases were registered, had failed to appear before the ED, promoting the agency to move the PMLA court for issuance of NBWs against them.

On February 27, the ED had moved the court seeking an NBW against Modi.