mumbai

Updated: Dec 21, 2019 00:55 IST

Businessman Nirav Modi, his brother Nehal and two of their business associates tried to threaten witnesses and destroy evidence, said the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the additional charge sheet submitted before the CBI court in Mumbai on Friday. Nirav is one of the key accused in the Rs 23,780 crore fraud and money-laundering case involving Punjab National Bank (PNB).

According to CBI’s charge sheet, which HT has a copy of, the evidence came after nine of Nirav’s employees submitted details to CBI of how Nirav and Nehal, along with associates, took them to Egypt against their will and coerced them into signing documents that would establish the nine as owners of dummy companies Nirav had floated. Ashish Lad, Jinesh Shah, Vipin Samith, Nilesh Mistry, Shridhar Mayekar, Netaji Mohite, Subey George, Rushabh Jethwa and Sonu Shailesh Mehta were examined by CBI upon their return to India.

In April 2018, Nehal with co-accused Sandeep Mistry and Mihir Bhansali allegedly forced Lad, Shah, Samith, Mistry, Mayekar, Mohite, George, Jethwa and Mehta to leave Dubai, where they worked for different companies owned by Nirav. Before vacating the office premises in Dubai, the nine men’s cellphones were taken and destroyed. The office server, which contained accounting data including information related to imports, exports and other operations of the dummy companies, was also destroyed. According to the statements of the nine dummy directors to CBI, the accused took 50 kilograms of gold and ₹7.74 crore in foreign exchange (United Arab Emirates Dirham) from the bank accounts of the Dubai-based dummy companies.

The nine were taken to Cairo in Egypt. Nehal allegedly arranged airline tickets and visas for the nine against their wishes. They were told by Nehal, Mistry and Bhansali that they might be arrested if they stayed in Dubai.

While in Cairo, the nine were made to sign documents that would make them owners of dummy companies floated by Nirav. When Lad repeatedly told Mistry that he wanted to go to India, he received a call from Nirav in which Nirav allegedly threatened to have Lad killed. A scared Lad told fellow directors Jethwa and Mayekar of Nirav’s threat and started recording his phone calls. These recordings have been submitted to CBI. Lad has also alleged that Nehal asked Lad to give a statement favourable to Modi before a European court, which Lad refused to do.

Nirav also allegedly hid important documents running into 24,500 pages in the office of a prominent law firm in Mumbai, including original applications to PNB, export declaration forms, foreign bills, transaction advices and counter indemnity forms. The law firm was not aware of the contents of the documents and will initiate legal proceedings against Modi for his improper conduct at a suitable time, according to CBI’s charge sheet.

Nehal also allegedly asked Bhavik Shah, Nilesh Khetani, Ashish Bagaria and Divyesh Kumar Gandhi, who were shown as directors in Hong Kong-based companies owned by Nirav, to not visit India and participate in the investigation.