PNB case: Nirav Modi's sister wants to record her statement via video conference

Mumbai, Jul 14 (PTI) Fugitive diamantaire Nirav Modi's sister Purvi Modi on Tuesday moved an application before a special CBI court here, seeking to record her statement in Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud case through video conference. Nirav Modi, who is presently lodged in a London jail, is a prime accused in the case. Purvi Modi, the diamond merchant's younger sister and a Belgian national, has already filed a plea before the court for turning approver in the case. The CBI had insisted that before her plea to turn approver is decided, her statement in the case needs to be recorded. On Tuesday, her lawyer requested that she be allowed to give her statement through video conference. The court has asked the prosecution to submit its reply on Purvi's plea. Meanwhile, both Purvi and her husband Maiank Mehta have already turned approver in a related money laundering case, being probed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED). Purvi Modi was arraigned as an accused in the alleged criminal bank fraud case where multiple chargesheets have been filed by the ED and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). Nirav Modi, his uncle Mehul Choksi and others are being probed by the ED on money laundering charges since 2018 for allegedly perpetrating an over USD 2 billion (more than Rs 13,000 crore) bank fraud in connivance with bank officials and by issuance of fraudulent Letters of Undertaking (LoUs) at the Brady House PNB branch in Mumbai. PTI AVI NP