Nirav Modis Sister Purvi Mehta Files Plea to Turn Approver in PNB Fraud Case
On July 14, 2026, Purvi Mehta, the sister of fugitive diamantaire Nirav Modi, filed a plea before a special CBI court in Mumbai seeking to turn approver in the Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud case. Mehta also requested permission to record her statement through video conferencing in connection with the Rs 23,780 crore case.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) recently filed a chargesheet against Mehta and Aditya Nanavati, a senior executive of Nirav Modi. During the court proceedings, Special CBI Prosecutor A. Lemozine urged the court to take cognisance of this chargesheet.
However, Mehta's legal team sought a deferment of the hearing. They submitted that she has already challenged the proceedings against her before the High Court, where the matter remains pending.
The CBI insisted that Mehta's statement must be recorded before the court decides on her plea to turn approver. The agency also demanded her personal presence for the recording. In response, the defence requested that she be allowed to record her statement via video conferencing. The special court has directed the prosecution to submit its reply to Mehta's plea.
If the court accepts her plea, Mehta will become an approver alongside her husband, Maiank Mehta. Maiank Mehta has already been granted a pardon and made an approver in the case filed by the CBI. Both husband and wife are also accused in a separate case filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and have been made approvers in the ED's money laundering case against Nirav Modi.
The ED has previously alleged that Nirav Modi diverted approximately Rs 1,201.18 crore (USD 175.1 million) through his sister. The agency claimed in its prosecution complaint that Mehta actively participated in generating proceeds of crime and money laundering. It further alleged she was a director in Dubai- and Hong Kong-based firms that received funds obtained through fraudulent Letters of Undertaking issued by Nirav Modi.
Mehta has denied these allegations, maintaining she had no knowledge of the transactions. In a reply filed before the court hearing the ED's plea to confiscate Nirav Modi's properties, she stated she had no connection to the alleged proceeds of crime.
