Fresh summons were issued to diamantaire Nirav Modi after he failed to appear and depose before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday, official sources said.
Sources added that Modi had replied to the ED's investigating officer (IO), who is probing the role of the diamond merchant and his uncle Mehul Choksi, the promoter of Gitanjali Gems, in the Rs 11,400-crore alleged fraud at the Punjab National Bank (PNB), and cited the temporary suspension of his passport and pending business issues as reasons for his non-appearance.
Modi was summoned by the ED under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The sources said he had now been asked to join the investigation and appear before the central probe agency in Mumbai on February 26.
Modi, it is understood, had sent an e-mail to the ED, stating that while his passport was temporarily suspended, he was also dealing with the recent developments and investigations, pertaining to the alleged bank fraud, against his businesses in the country and, hence, he was unable to depose before the agency.
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