NEW DELHI: A special CBI court in Mumbai has issued non-bailable warrants (NBWs) against billionaire diamantine Nirav Modi and his uncle Mehul Choksi in connection with the cases related to over USD 2 billion banking fraud in the Punjab National Bank, officials said here.
The special court has allowed the application of the agency for the issuance of NBWs against Modi and Choksi who had repeatedly refused to join the investigation in the scam, considered the biggest in the banking history of the country, the officials said.
The agency had written to Modi and Choksi to join probe on their official e-mail ids but they have refused to join it citing business engagements and health issues.
The issuance of NBWs by a court also opens door of seeking Red Corner Notices against both of the accused from the Interpol.
The government has claimed to have tracked Modi in Hong Kong where it has sent a request for his provisional arrest.
The CBI, in the meanwhile, is questioning officials of overseas branches of Indian banks which had extended credit facilities to the companies of Modi and Choksi on the basis of fraudulent Letters of Undertaking (LoUs) issued by the Punjab National Bank’s Brady House branch in Mumbai.
The agency has also summoned the official who handled foreign exchange transactions in the Hong Kong branch of the Allahabad bank, they said, adding that he may join the probe soon. PTI
