New Delhi, June 18: Nirav Modi, the absconding diamond merchant in alleged USD 2-billion Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud possessed at least half-a-dozen Indian passports, agencies probing the scam revealed. A fresh FIR is being thought against Modi for this offence, officials informed on Sunday.

According to a report by PTI, Indian intelligence agencies have traced Modi to Belgium and revealed that he is travelling despite the revocation of his passport. This has led sleuths to unearth that of the six passports that Modi held. Out of the 6, two were active for quite some time while four other passports were found to be not active.

Reports inform that out of the two active passports, one had Modi's full name while the other only had his first name with a 40-month UK visa issued against it. It is believed that that is probably how he kept travelling to various countries, despite the government revoking his first known passport earlier this year, sources told PTI. The second passport was also subsequently revoked by the Indian authorities.

Sources aware of the development informed that the revocation order of the passports has been appended to the application of the probe agencies (CBI and ED), seeking an Interpol arrest warrant or a "red corner notice" against Modi. According to a report by PTI, a government employee said, "It is a criminal offence to use a revoked passport and also to possess more than one valid passport if a person does not enjoy a special status like that of a diplomatic entity”.

A senior official said that a fresh criminal FIR may be filed against Nirav Modi and he may face prosecution for the offence after the completion of an internal inquiry. He added that an inquiry was also being held to ascertain if Modi was using passports issued by other countries to travel.

Reports inform that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) have again urged the Interpol to issue an arrest warrant against the fugitive diamantaire on the basis of their respective chargesheets against him and others, containing corruption and money-laundering charges. Once the Interpol issued the notice and Modi's latest location was ascertained, the government would move for his extradition, the sources said.

For the unversed, Nirav Modi, his uncle and jeweller Nirav Choksi and others are being probed by the agencies after a complaint from the Punjab National Bank (PNB) that they allegedly cheated the nationalised bank to the tune of over Rs 13,000 crore with the purported involvement of a few employees of the bank. Soon after, both Modi and Choksi are said to have left the country before the criminal cases were lodged against them.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 18, 2018 10:51 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).