File photo. Photograph:( Facebook )
Police on Tuesday arrested fugitive billionaire diamantaire Nirav Modi London's Holborn metro station. Modi is the prime accused in Punjab Nation Bank (PNB) scam. He will be produced in the Westminster court at in a short while, TV reports claimed.
Westminster court in London on Monday issued an arrest warrant against the diamond merchant
The following is a timeline of how the case has unfolded:
January 29, 2018:
PNB files police complaint against jewellers Nirav Modi, Mehul Choksi and others, saying they had colluded with two of its bank staff to defraud the bank of 2.81 billion rupees ($43.16 million)
February 5, 2018:
Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) says it has launched an investigation into the alleged scam. Bank tells stock exchange it is still probing the extent of the fraud
February 14, 2018:
PNB now discloses the amount involved in the fraud as $1.77 billion, adds other banks overseas advanced money to jewellers based on the fraudulent guarantees issued by its staff
February 15, 2018:
PNB Chief Executive Sunil Mehta holds a news conference, says working with law enforcement agencies, regulators, other banks
CBI says Modi, Choksi left India before PNB filed complaint
February 16, 2018:
CBI files case against Choksi’s Gitanjali Group and conducts searches at 20 of the jewellery retailers locations
PNB CEO tells analysts bank putting in place better checks and balances, hopes to recover within six months
February 17, 2018:
CBI makes first arrests in the case, two PNB employees and an executive of Nirav Modi’s group detained
Enforcement Directorate seizes a cumulative 56.74 billion rupees worth of diamonds, gold and jewellery from Nirav Modi's home and offices
February 19, 2018
CBI arrests three more PNB executives
February 20, 2018
PNB shares fall for fifth trading session, wiping off $1.9 billion in market capitalisation
Reserve Bank of India asks banks to implement measures to strengthen their oversight of the SWIFT interbank messaging platform
Jeweller Modi’s lawyer denies wrongdoing by the client; Modi writes to PNB saying his companies owe much less than the sums reported
Enforcement Directorate (ED) says investigating more than 100 shell companies allegedly used by Modi and Choksi to route funds
CBI arrests three officials from Modi’s group, two from Gitanjali
February 21, 2018:
CBI arrests PNB general manager Rajesh Jindal, who headed the bank’s Brady House branch in Mumbai between August 2009 and May 2011
Jeweller Modi writes to his employees in India saying they should look for other jobs as he would not be able to pay them salaries after the seizure of his assets
February 22, 2018:
ED seizes nine luxury cars belonging to Modi and his firms; freezes shares and mutual funds worth 78 million rupees held by Modi and 867.2 million rupees held by Choksi
February 23, 2018:
Auditor group Institute of Chartered Accountants of India begins probe into PNB fraud
RBI orders linking of SWIFT system with banks’ core accounting software by April 30, among other measures, Feb. 20 letter to banks shows
Bollywood star Priyanka Chopra announces cutting ties with Nirav Modi’s brand
February 24, 2018:
Choksi writes an open letter to employees of Gitanjali Gems protesting innocence and telling them to look for other jobs
ED seizes 21 properties including a farmhouse, a solar power plant and land belonging to Modi worth 5.24 billion rupees
February 27, 2018:
PNB says the amount of fraudulent transactions has gone up by about $204 million to $1.97 billion
Jeweller Modi’s firm Firestar Diamond files for bankruptcy in the United States
February 28, 2018:
CBI arrests former PNB auditor M.K. Sharma, who was responsible for auditing systems and practices of the bank’s Brady House branch
March 1, 2018: PNB appoints BDO India as a forensic auditor for five group companies belonging to Modi
CBI arrests another former PNB internal auditor, Bishnubrata Mishra, who was responsible for audits at the branch between 2011 and 2015
March 3, 2018:
Authorities say gold and diamond bribes given to one PNB staffer named in the fraud
State-run lender Allahabad Bank says its exposure to the fraud is about $367 million
March 4, 2018:
CBI makes four more arrests - two former employees of Modi’s Firestar International, an auditor of Modi’s group and a former director of one of Choksi’s companies
March 6, 2018:
CBI arrests a vice president of Gitanjali group
Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) meets executives from Axis Bank, ICICI Bank over Modi, Choksi exposure
March 8, 2018:
Choksi accuses investigating agencies of gross abuse of due process in the ongoing probe
June 2, 2018
Interpol issues Red Corner Notice against Nirav Modi for money laundering
June 25, 2018
ED moves a special court in Mumbai seeking diamond jeweller Nirav Modi's extradition
June 26, 2018
The special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) Court in Mumbai issues summons against diamond jeweller Nirav Modi and his uncle Mehul Choksi to appear before the court or be declared fugitives.
June 27, 2018
Mehul Choksi moves special court seeking cancellation of a non-bailable warrant (NBW) issued against him
June 28, 2018
India requests a group of countries to deny entry to diamantaire Nirav Modi, Ministry of External Affairs Raveesh Kumar said
August 3, 2018
The government of India sends a request for the extradition of fugitive diamantaire Nirav Modi to the UK authorities
August 20, 2018
CBI officials request Interpol Manchester to detain Nirav Modi after the latter informs about his presence in London to Indian authorities.
September 6, 2018
Interpol issues a Red Corner Notice (RCN) against Mihir R Bhansali, an executive of the fugitive diamantaire Nirav Modi, in connection with the alleged USD 2 billion PNB money-laundering case
October 11, 2018
The Chief Judicial Magistrate of Surat issues an order declaring fugitive diamantaire and Punjab National Bank (PNB) scam accused Nirav Modi as an absconder in a case filed against him by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) for allegedly evading customs duty on import of diamonds and pearls
November 6, 2018
The Enforcement Directorate attaches 11 properties worth over Rs 56 crores of fugitive diamond jeweller Nirav Modi in Dubai in connection with its money-laundering probe in the USD 2-billion Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud case.
December 25, 2018
Mehul Choksi says he cannot travel 41 hours to reach India. He, however, says he would be willing to be questioned overa video call
December 27, 2018
British authorities inform India that fugitive Nirav Modi is living in the UK
March 8, 2019
Fugitive diamantaire Nirav Modi is living in a swanky 8-million pound apartment in London's West End and is now involved in a new diamond business, a British daily reports
March 9, 2019
ED says the government of United Kingdom has sent an extradition request of fugitive diamantaire Nirav Modi to a UK court for further proceeding
March 18, 2019
Westminster Court in London issues arrest warrant against fugitive Nirav Modi after the Indian government's request was forwarded to the court by UK Home Office
March 20, 2019
Nirav Modi arrested in London after Westminster court issued an arrest warrant against the fugitive diamantaire
Nirav Modi will be produced in Westminster court at in a short while, TV reports claimed
