2/20/2018 Billionaire jeweller Nirav Modi denies involvement in PNB fraud - lawyer

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illionaire jeweller By Aditya Kalra and Devidutta Tripathy Quote Lookup

irav Modi denies NEW DELHI/MUMBAI (Reuters) - Indian billionaire jeweller Nirav
Modi, one of the prime accused in the country's largest ever bank Recently Viewed
volvement in fraud, denies allegations levelled against him by Punjab National

NB fraud - lawyer Bank (PNB), his lawyer said on Tuesday. Your list is empty.

"There is nothing, there is nothing in it," Vijay Aggarwal, a lawyer

uters 20 February 2018
representing Modi, told Reuters, referring to the police complaint
filed by PNB that alleges that companies linked to Modi and one of
his relatives received credit worth nearly $1.8 billion between 2011
and 2017 using false guarantees supplied by two bank officials.

Aggarwal, speaking by telephone, declined to comment on where

Modi was. Indian officials are on the lookout for Modi and his
family, who police say left India in January prior to the case being
filed.

"Everything is documented," Aggarwal said of Modi's dealings with

PNB, adding that the state-owned bank had regularly levied fees
on its dealings with the jeweller's firms.

Asked about his legal strategy, Aggarwal said: "Until there is no

chargesheet, there is no strategy. When there is a chargesheet,
there will be a strategy."

According to a police complaint by PNB, the two officials at a

Mumbai branch of the bank steered fraudulent loans to companies
linked to Modi and entities tied to jewellery retailer Gitanjali Gems,
which is led by Modi's uncle, Mehul Choksi.

"They are covering themselves up," Aggarwal said of the

complaint. "They want to avoid liability ... that is why they are
cooking up this story."

Choksi, who has also left the country, has not commented.
What to read next
Gitanjali, in a stock exchange filing, has denied Choksi's
involvement in the alleged fraud.

Five bank officials, including the two at the Mumbai branch, have
been arrested.

The fraud case has stunned financial markets and it sent PNB
shares tumbling for a fifth straight trading day on Tuesday.

Shares in PNB, which has shed nearly a third of its market value Nirav Modi Claims His Companies Owed PN
Under Rs 5,000 Crore
since disclosing the fraud, were down 3.5 percent in early trading Bloomberg Quint
after rating agency Fitch placed the bank on negative watch. Later,

https://in.finance.yahoo.com/news/nirav-modi-says-pnb-closed-043410857.html 1/3
2/20/2018 Billionaire jeweller Nirav Modi denies involvement in PNB fraud - lawyer

Moody's also placed the bank's ratings under review for a

downgrade.

Separately, in a letter to PNB officials, Modi stated that his

companies owe the bank under 50 billion rupees ($775.25 million),
much lower than the amount alleged by the bank. He also said
PNB has jeopardized its chances of recovering the sums owed by12 Months FREE CIBIL Report With Persona
Loan
going public with its allegations.
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"The erroneously cited liability resulted in a media frenzy which led

to immediate search and seizure of operations, and which in turn
resulted in Firestar International and Firestar Diamond
International effectively ceasing to be going-concerns," he wrote in
a letter seen by Reuters. "This thereby jeopardised our ability to
discharge the dues of the group to the banks."

Both companies are controlled by Modi. The fraud allegedly

involves at least three firms controlled by Modi and others by Raids just a smoke-screen, 'Maun' Modi mus
answer: Congress on bank fraud
Choksi.
Moneycontrol

(Reporting by Krishna V Kurup in Bengaluru; Editing by Euan

Rocha and Raju Gopalakrishnan)

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2/20/2018 Billionaire jeweller Nirav Modi denies involvement in PNB fraud - lawyer

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