Billionaire jeweller denies involvement in huge Indian bank fraud – lawyer

It is alleged that companies linked to Nirav Modi and one of his relatives received credit worth nearly $1.8 billion between 2011 and 2017 using false guarantees in what is India's biggest banking scam.

An Indian supporter of the Congress Party keeps his hand on the face of a cutout of billionaire jeweller Nirav Modi during a protest in New Delhi on February 16, 2018. Indian investigators on February 15 raided the premises of a billionaire jeweller accused of defrauding one of the country's biggest banks.
AFP

An Indian supporter of the Congress Party keeps his hand on the face of a cutout of billionaire jeweller Nirav Modi during a protest in New Delhi on February 16, 2018. Indian investigators on February 15 raided the premises of a billionaire jeweller accused of defrauding one of the country's biggest banks.

Indian billionaire jeweller Nirav Modi, one of the prime suspects accused in the country's largest-ever bank fraud, denies allegations levelled against him by Punjab National Bank (PNB), his lawyer said on Tuesday.

"There is nothing, there is nothing in it," Vijay Aggarwal, a lawyer representing Modi, told Reuters, referring to the police complaint filed by PNB that alleges that companies linked to Modi and one of his relatives received credit worth nearly $1.8 billion between 2011 and 2017 using false guarantees supplied by two bank officials.

Aggarwal, speaking by telephone, declined to comment on where Modi was. Indian officials are on the lookout for Modi and his family, who police say left India in January prior to the case being filed.

"Everything is documented," Aggarwal said of Modi's dealings with PNB, adding that the state-owned bank had regularly levied fees on its dealings with the jeweller's firms.

Legal strategy

Asked about his legal strategy, Aggarwal said, "Until there is no charge sheet, there is no strategy. When there is a charge sheet, there will be a strategy."

According to a police complaint by PNB, the two officials at a Mumbai branch of the bank steered fraudulent loans to companies linked to Modi and entities tied to jewellery retailer Gitanjali Gems, which is led by Modi's uncle, Mehul Choksi.

"They are covering themselves up," Aggarwal said of the complaint. "They want to avoid liability ... that is why they are cooking up this story."

Choksi, who has also left the country, has not commented. Gitanjali, in a stock exchange filing, has denied Choksi's involvement in the alleged fraud.

Five arrested

Five bank officials, including the two at the Mumbai branch, have been arrested.

The fraud case has stunned financial markets and it sent PNB shares tumbling for a fifth straight trading day on Tuesday.

Shares in PNB, which has shed nearly a third of its market value since disclosing the fraud, were down 3.5 percent in early trading after rating agency Fitch placed the bank on negative watch. 

Later, Moody's also placed the bank's ratings under review for a downgrade.

Separately, in a letter to PNB officials, Modi stated that his companies owe the bank under $775.25 million (50 billion rupees), much lower than the amount alleged by the bank. 

He also said PNB has jeopardised its chances of recovering the sums owed by going public with its allegations.

"The erroneously cited liability resulted in a media frenzy which led to immediate search and seizure of operations, and which in turn resulted in Firestar International and Firestar Diamond International effectively ceasing to be going-concerns," he wrote in a letter seen by Reuters. 

"This thereby jeopardised our ability to discharge the dues of the group to the banks."

Both companies are controlled by Modi. The fraud allegedly involves at least three firms controlled by Modi and others by Choksi.

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