Nirav Modi's sister, her husband turn approvers in PNB fraud case: ED

New Delhi/Mumbai, Jan 7 The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday said that fugitive diamantaire Nirav Modi's sister Purvi Modi, a Belgian national, and her husband Maiank Mehta have turned approvers in the Rs 13,500-crore PNB loan fraud case.

An ED official in Delhi said that both became approvers for assisting the agency in the confiscation of two flats in New York in the US, and one each in London and Mumbai, and the balance laying in two Swiss Bank accounts and a bank account in Mumbai, totalling Rs 579 crore, in the Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud case.

The ED had said in July last year that the Singapore High Court had ordered for a freeze on a bank account with Rs 44 crore related to Purvi and her husband.

In June last year, the ED had attached four bank accounts of Nirav Modi and Purvi, having a balance of Rs 283 crore, as part of its investigation into the case.

The Interpol has already issued a Red Corner Notice against Purvi in 2019.

Nirav Modi and his uncle Mehul Choksi are under investigation by both the CBI and ED. Choksi is now believed to be in Antigua.

Meanwhile, a UK court had scheduled a hearing on the closing arguments in the extradition case of Nirav Modi on January 7 and 8.

Nirav Modi has been behind bars at Wandsworth Prison in south-west London since his arrest last year following India's extradition request.

( With inputs from IANS )