After Everything, We’re Left Asking ‘Who Gave Nirav Modi Wings?’

Camera: Shiv Kumar Muarya
Video Editor: Mohammad Ibrahim

Remember the big headline from February 2018 – ‘Scamster Nirav Modi’s Passport Cancelled’?

It was thought to mean that Modi, who had been named in the Rs 13400-crore Punjab National Bank scam, wouldn’t be able to travel on an Indian passport. This in turn was thought to mean that he would be caught soon. His properties were raided, investigative agencies were hot on his trail, assets worth millions were seized.

We believed that Nirav Modi had messed with a tough government. He was done for.

Why Did Other Nations Ignore Our Request?

Five months later, a look at the headlines reveals that the man is still travelling on an Indian passport. It is unknown how many passports he has – one, two, six?

Perhaps new passports were issued, but the old ones not revoked. Maybe the Interpol kept waiting for the filing of a chargesheet and did not issue a Red Corner Notice.

The CBI sent Modi’s passport details to the US, England, Belgium, France, Singapore, and UAE. But their request for information was not given any importance. The importance to requests is given on the basis of a country’s diplomatic heft. Leave the US or England, it seems even Belgium and France do not consider us significant enough to consider our request.

It’s now being said Modi might have obtained the citizenship of another country. He might never be apprehended by Indian authorities.

The results of the raids on his properties also failed to yield expected results. The actual worth of the assets seized was not even 10 percent of the value estimated earlier.

The crux of the matter is that Modi seems to have fled forever. All efforts went in vain. The suspect fled and crores were siphoned off.

Twist in the Tale

Punjab National Bank (PNB) , which was scammed by Nirav Modi, published an internal investigative report. Some things that came out in the report are:

• The Brady House branch, where the scam started, was PNB’s star branch. It was the star branch because it suddenly started conducting huge transactions. But no suspicions were raised.
• Gopalnath Shetty, involved the multi-crore scam, was at his position for a record seven years, while rules prescribe a transfer after three years.
• PNB’s investigations revealed 54 employees to be involved in the scam. But only a select few were made scapegoats.
• The star branch submitted compliance reports only twice a year, and this was deemed okay by the headquarters. Since 2016, RBI guidelines were ignored.

Many Questions Remain Unanswered

Kudos to our strong banking system and super-alert investigative agencies.

Should we accept that Nirav Modi has fooled everyone and fled?

I still have some questions:

1. How can one person have so many passports? We have to toil so much just to get one.
2. How did the value of Modi’s seized assets turn out so low? Was the value negligible from the start?
3. Were Indian investigative agencies unaware earlier that Interpol does not issue a Red Corner Notice unless a chargesheet is filed?
4. And lastly, one small question: Who is shielding Nirav Modi?