He is reportedly travelling on suspended passport
An Indian businessman who is involved in a $2 billion bank fraud case is reportedly hiding in a New York hotel.
Nirav Modi, who is wanted by India’s Central Bureau of Investigation, had fled the country after the central agency started investigating him.
Modi reportedly left India in the first week of January to the UAE and then to Hong Kong. Now, media reports suggest that the fugitive has taken shelter in New York’s Loews Regency hotel, with a suspended passport.
According to reports, Modi was forced to flee Hong Kong after the Indian government requested Hong Kong authorities to extradite him based on a 1997 agreement between the two.
India Today TV reported that Modi has replaced the directors of his company in UK and Hong Kong with American citizens and initiated a massive revamp in three of his companies. It said one of the new directors of his three companies is New Jersey-based Anthony Allicock.
Modi’s UK business is run under the name by Nirav Modi Ltd, whereas the Hong Kong operations come under Firestar Diamond Ltd and Nirav Modi Ltd.
All three companies are controlled by Firestar Holdings, which in turn, is controlled by Firestar International Ltd. Modi is a majority shareholder in all these companies.
Modi is accused of securing loans worth millions that he never paid back using fake guarantees supplied by officials of a state run bank, Punjab National Bank (PNB). The scam received heavy media attention as Modi became the second high profile fugitive after liquor baron Vijay Malliya to have caused the Indian exchequer heavy financial loss and fled the country to avoid arrest and prosecution.