MUMBAI: The

(ED) has foiled fugitive diamond merchant

’s attempt to dispose of diamonds and pearls worth Rs 22.7 crore lying with an agent in

Hong Kong

after CBI began probing the PNB scam.

Interestingly, a valuation revealed that the pearls, with a declared value of Rs 50 crore, were worth just Rs 5 lakh, while the diamonds’ declared value of Rs 35 crore was actually Rs 22.65 crore.

The ED attached these valuables after a three-month drama in which they arm-twisted the forwarding agent to send the diamonds and pearls to India.

was negotiating to get custody of the diamonds in Hong Kong and had sent Nehal Modi, his US-based stepbrother, to handle the crisis. But the agent supported the ED and sent the valuables back to India after stating that the “receiver was not traceable”, officials said.

Officials stated that Nirav was trying to collect whatever valuables he had lying in different countries. He was keener about the diamonds considering they were worth Rs 22.65 crore. In the past, Nirav had sent his stepbrother to a

Dubai

“safehouse” from where he had “disappeared” with 50 kg of gold jewellery.

Nirav Modi had left India in January and, within a month, the CBI had registered a case against him for defrauding Punjab National Bank of Rs 6,300 crore though fraudulent letters of undertaking. The Enforcement Directorate then registered a

case against him and others. Since the Indian agencies were searching for Nirav, he took Nehal’s help to shift his valuables to safer locations, officials said.

Officials stated that Nirav asked Nehal to visit Hong Kong to get hold of the gems. Many of the shell companies with dummy directors that Nirav used to launder money were based in Hong Kong. Nehal destroyed the mobile phones of all the dummy directors in Hong Kong and relocated the directors to Cairo, the officials said.

He then approached the forwarding agent to collect the diamonds. The agent sensed trouble and refused to hand over the gems to Nehal despite Nirav insisting that the agent obey his instructions.

The agent asked Nehal to call the director of the shell company in whose name the diamonds had been imported. The ED learnt of the matter and asked the agent not to hand over the diamonds to anyone as they wanted to attach the precious stones in the Nirav Modi case as proceeds of crime, officials said. The agent has business interests in India and therefore helped the ED and sent the gemstones back to India after stating that the director of the shell company was untraceable.

The ED attached the diamonds and pearls.