London: Nirav Modi’s younger sister Purvi Mehta and his brother-in-law Maiank Mehta will testify against the fugitive diamantaire after they turned approvers in the Rs 13,500-crore Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud case in which Modi is the prime accused.
Belgian citizen Purvi and British citizen Maiank in November approached the special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court in November, seeking pardon and asking to be enlisted as approvers, Hindustan Times reported.
Special judge VC Barde has now directed Enforcement Directorate (ED) to facilitate the Mehtas’ travel to India and appearance before court to make a statement.
There are two extradition requests — by the Central Bureau of Investigation and ED – against the 49-year-old Modi, who is currently lodged in London’s Wandsworth jail.
According to the ED, Modi diverted around Rs 1,201.18 crore ($175.1 million) through his sister Purvi. In its chargesheet, ED named Purvi as an active participant in the ‘generation of proceeds of crime and in money laundering’.
Purvi, however, said that she had nothing to do with the alleged proceeds of crime.
In separate applications seeking pardon, Maiank and Purvi submitted they were not prime accused and had a limited role to play in the cases against Modi.
As close relatives of Modi, they stated that they are in “a unique position to be able to provide substantial and important evidence, information, proof, and documents relevant to Nirav Modi and his actions/dealings. Such information will significantly aid the further investigation of ED and will prove critical to conclusively establish the facts against Nirav Modi and other key accused persons”.
In its reply, ED stated: “The applicant as an approver can help ED to prosecute the mastermind, to identify and attach more proceeds of crime in India and abroad, to repatriate the proceeds of crime to India, to obtain more evidence against the mastermind, etc.”
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