Who Facilitated Nirav Modi’s Great Escape: CBI or Interpol?

Did India’s premier investigative agency – the CBI – fail to provide relevant threads to the Interpol?

Nirav Modi is at the centre of the Rs 11,400 crore PNB scam.

(Photo: Altered by The Quint)

Why would a fugitive attempt to travel on a revoked passport despite being aware of the fact that he/she could be detained and taken into custody by the police at any airport? Diamantaire fugitive Nirav Modi’s frequent international travels on a revoked passport begs the question – what boosted Modi’s confidence?

These questions come to the fore as the Interpol functions in a way to help capture the smallest of fugitives in its net, and not let them go scot-free without a thorough check. Then how did Modi manage to swim past the Interpol’s net?

Did India’s premier investigative agency – the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) – fail to provide relevant threads to the Interpol and facilitate Modi’s great escape?

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The CBI-Interpol Connect

If we are to believe the CBI’s version, then Modi and his uncle Mehul Choksi’s revoked passport details were reflecting on the Interpol’s Stolen and Lost Travel Document (SLTD) database on 24 February 2018. If that was the case, it was impossible for them to travel internationally multiple times.

The SLTD database contains records on lost, stolen and revoked travel documents, such as passports, identity cards and visa stamps. The database enables the Interpol’s National Central Bureau (NCB) and other authorised law enforcement entities – such as immigration and border control officers – to ascertain the validity of a travel document (passports, identity documents, visas) in seconds.

The SLTD database was created by the Interpol in 2002 after the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks in the USA to secure international borders. Currently, 174 countries are members of the Interpol’s SLTD programme, the website claims.

According to the CBI, India became a member of the SLTD programme in 2014.

Was An Insider Tipping Off Modi About CBI’s Movements?

The CBI acts as the Interpol’s NCB for India, linking the national police to the global network.

The CBI was technically required to follow just six steps to stop Modi and Choksi from travelling on a revoked passport – explained in the flowchart from the Interpol’s website.

(Photo: The Quint/with text from Interpol’s website)

The CBI claims to have followed the four steps (as per the above flowchart) in Modi’s case.

1. The investigating agency declared Modi and Choksi fugitives after an FIR was registered against them on 31 January 2018 in the Punjab National Bank (PNB) scam worth Rs 13,000 crores.
2. The investigating agencies, CBI and ED approached the Ministry of External Affairs on 15 February 2018 for the revocation of Modi and Choksi’s passport.
3. On 23 February 2018 MEA revoked their passports.
4. On 24 February 2018 Modi and Choksi’s details were reflecting on SLTD database as claimed by the CBI.

If the first four steps were completed properly, then the last two steps should have been automatically followed by the Interpol’s NCB and other International law enforcement agencies, which are:

• The border officials can screen passenger details directly on the SLTD database.
• The passenger is denied entry at the airport if found suspicious. His/her travel documents are seized immediately to stop him/her from future travel.

But if indeed the CBI followed all four steps promptly, how did Modi manage to travel on a revoked passport?

When The Quint asked a senior CBI official, he said, “Probably, the countries didn’t honour the request on Modi which was reflecting on the SLTD database.”

But why would countries like UK, Hong Kong and the USA not adhere to the database built by the Interpol?

What About the Diffusions Notice?

A Diffusions Notice was issued against Modi on 17 February 2018. According to legal experts, the Interpol takes Diffusions Notice as seriously as a Red Corner Notice.

All international alerts for wanted persons either in the form of Red Corner Notice or Diffusions are shared through database with law enforcement agencies. In a very short time, a member country can draft and submit an alert seeking the arrest of a wanted criminal in the Interpol’s database which is immediately accessible to police around the world. One cannot doubt the Interpol’s efficiency because they have an organised network. 

Prashant Kumar, Senior Advocate, Supreme Court

When the CBI claims to have covered all leaks from Diffusions Notice to SLTD database, then what went amiss? Is the CBI making efforts to find out what prompted Modi’s escape? Did an insider collude with him?

Recently, CBI Joint Director Rajiv Singh, who was investigating Modi’s case, was suddenly transferred to his cadre in Assam.

It was also reported that the investigation against Modi and Choksi was compromised because Singh’s email was hacked. Although, the CBI refuted this, the report claimed that one of the CBI email IDs allotted to Singh sent a spam message to over 30,000 people saying the sender is a Norwegian and that it is the receiver’s ‘good fortune’ that he/she has received this email, having won a considerable amount of money. The email also asked the receivers to forward the message.

Our focus is to get Red Corner Notice issued against Modi, although we are taking some concrete measures to ensure that a Modi-like incident doesn’t happen in the future.

Senior CBI official

The SLTD database has limited access, hence The Quint has requested the CBI to provide a copy of the data which mentions Modi and Choksi’s name along with other details such as the date of creation, passport number and status etc.

This story will be updated if and when the agency provides the details.