Nirav Modi's brother held in US on Indian extradition request

New Delhi | The US authorities have arrested the younger brother of fugitive diamantaire Nirav Modi on the basis of the extradition requests from the Enforcement Directorate and the CBI, officials said Saturday.

Nehal Modi was taken into custody on Friday, US authorities have informed India, they said.

The next date for the hearing in the matter is July 17, when Nihal may seek bail, but it will be opposed by the US prosecutors, they said.

The move came on an extradition request jointly submitted by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

The extradition proceedings led by the US prosecutors were taken up on two charges – one count of money laundering under Section 3 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, and one count of criminal conspiracy under Sections 120-B (criminal conspiracy) and 201 (disappearance) of the Indian Penal Code.

Nehal, 46, is an accused in an alleged Rs 13,000 crore fraud — one of the largest such — involving the Punjab National Bank.

It has been alleged that the fraud was orchestrated by the two brothers and their uncle Mehul Choksi.

Born and brought up in Antwerp, Belgium, and fluent in English, Gujarati, and Hindi, Nehal Deepak Modi is wanted in India for laundering proceeds of crime on behalf of his brother, Nirav Modi, who is lodged in a London prison facing extradition proceedings from the UK on an Indian request.

Nehal is alleged to have assisted in concealing and transferring large sums of illicit funds through a web of shell companies and overseas transactions, in violation of Indian laws, officials said.

Nehal has been named in the charge sheet filed by the ED in this case and has been charged with destruction of evidence and "knowingly and intentionally" assisting Nirav Modi in his alleged illegal acts, they said.

The ED alleged that after the PNB fraud came to light, Nehal, along with Nirav's close confidante and executive Mihir R Bhansali, "took 50 kg gold and substantial cash from Dubai, and directed dummy directors not to reveal his name before the authorities," they said.