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Government Identifies 150 Shell Companies Linked To Nirav Modi

The corporate affairs ministry has identified 150 shell companies linked to Nirav Modi for investigation.

Billionaire diamond merchant Nirav Modi. (Source: Nirav Modi/Instagram)
Billionaire diamond merchant Nirav Modi. (Source: Nirav Modi/Instagram)

Intensifying the probe into India's biggest banking fraud, the government has identified as many as 150 shell companies related to billionaire Nirav Modi, his relatives and associates, according to a senior official.

As a multi-agency probe is underway in the $1.77 billion fraud perpetrated at state-owned Punjab National Bank, the corporate affairs ministry has identified 150 shell companies for investigation.

Generally, shell companies are those used for illicit fund flows and do not have much business activities.

The Central Bureau of Investigation and the Enforcement Directorate continued their crackdown on the bank fraud, registering a fresh case against Nirav Modi's maternal uncle Mehul Choksi and claimed to have seized ornaments worth Rs 549 crore during raids on Feb. 16.

Choksi, Managing Director of listed Gitanjali Gems Ltd., has also come under the lens of markets regulator SEBI and stock exchanges.