CBI Clears PNB Officials in Nirav Modi Case, Transfers Complaint to Magistrate

Nirav Modi Fraud Case Transferred to Magistrate's Court

A special CBI court in Mumbai transferred an alleged fraud case against absconding diamond businessman Nirav Modi to the magistrate's court on Thursday. The transfer came after the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) stated that corruption charges could not be proved against officials of the Punjab National Bank (PNB).

The case against Modi, directors of firms linked to him, and unknown officials of the PNB was registered by the CBI following a complaint filed by the bank's Mumbai zonal office. The complaint alleged that the bank was cheated of Rs 321.88 crore as credit facilities given to Modi's firms were misused.

During an internal inquiry, the bank found circular transactions between Nirav Modi-promoted partnership firms, namely Solar Exports, Stellar diamonds and Diamond R US, and Modi-promoted Firestar International Ltd. (FIL) and Firestar Diamonds International Pvt Ltd (FDIPL). The accused were initially booked under Sections 120-B (criminal conspiracy) read with 420 (cheating) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), along with Section 13(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.