Mumbai CBI Court Rejects Purvi Mehta Video Conferencing Plea in PNB Case
A special CBI court in Mumbai on Monday rejected an application by Purvi Mehta, the sister of fugitive diamond merchant Nirav Modi, seeking permission to record her statement through video conferencing in the Punjab National Bank fraud case. Mehta, a Belgian national who has been added as an accused in the case, had sought to testify and turn approver while pleading for a pardon.
The Central Bureau of Investigation strongly opposed Mehta's plea, insisting on her physical presence before the court in Mumbai. The investigative agency argued that as an accused in the case, she could not be permitted to choose the mode of her court appearance. The CBI further urged the court to take cognisance of the chargesheet filed against her and the other accused last year. The court accepted the agency's objections and rejected her application, with the detailed written order expected to be released later.
Mehta’s husband, Maiank, who was also named as an accused in the financial fraud case, has already been made an approver by the special CBI court. Investigations by the CBI allege that funds obtained through fraudulent Letters of Undertaking from Punjab National Bank were transferred to Pacific Diamond FZE, a United Arab Emirates-based shell company allegedly linked to Nirav Modi, before being routed to Maiank through a complex web of transactions.
According to the agency, approximately USD 30 million was transferred from Pacific Diamond FZE into Maiank's account. Between November 13, 2013, and November 26, 2013, Maiank allegedly transferred these funds in 10 instalments to Mehta's account, showing them as gifts given to her by her husband.
The CBI detailed that on November 15, 2013, Mehta created four deposits with Syndicate Bank totaling approximately USD 19.999985 million for a period of three years, appointing Maiank as the nominee. Mehta then allegedly secured a USD 19 million term loan from Syndicate Bank, London, by mortgaging those deposits. On November 22, 2013, the loan amount was transferred to her account maintained with Ratnakar Bank.
For the remaining USD 10 million, investigators alleged that Mehta opened a fixed deposit account with Ratnakar Bank. Against this deposit, she obtained a packing credit foreign currency facility worth USD 28.50 million through her firm, Radhashree Jewellers Company. The CBI claims that out of the funds transferred through the PNB Letters of Undertaking, USD 30 million was used by Nirav Modi and Mehta through the credit facility availed by Radhashree Jewellers with assistance from Maiank.
