**Mumbai:**
The special CBI court has granted pardon to Maiank Mehta, the brother-in-law of fugitive businessman Nirav Modi, allowing his plea to be an approver in connection with the Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud case lodged by the CBI against Modi.
Special judge AV Gujarathi, earlier this week, allowed Mehta’s application to turn approver after his confession statement was recorded by the CBI. Mehta was cited as an accused in the case registered by the agency for cheating PNB by fraudulently obtaining letters of undertaking (LOUs) worth Rs 23,780 crore.
The court stated that the pardon can be granted only after Mehta gives a statement and makes a full and true disclosure of the facts as an approver.
The CBI’s case against Modi is a predicate offence. Following this, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) launched a probe, in which Mehta was declared an approver by the special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court back in 2021.
The CBI, however, made Mehta an accused in the case earlier this month, later agreeing to accept him as an approver.
As per the CBI case, the funds obtained through LOUs were transferred to Pacific Diamond FZE, Modi’s shell company in the UAE, and subsequently routed to Mehta through a complex web of transactions.
The probe revealed that around $30 million were transferred to Mehta’s account from Pacific Diamond FZE. Between November 13 and 26, 2013, Mehta transferred these funds in 10 instalments to Modi’s sister, Purvi Mehta’s account. Purvi reportedly showed these as gifts from her husband.
The CBI further claimed that on November 15, 2013, Purvi created four deposits with Syndicate Bank for three years, appointing Mehta as the nominee. Later, she allegedly availed a term loan of $19 million from Syndicate Bank, London, by mortgaging all the FCNR deposits.
On November 22, 2013, she is said to have transferred the loan amount to her account maintained with Ratnakar Bank. For the remaining $10 million, she allegedly opened a fixed deposit account with Ratnakar Bank.
Against this, she allegedly obtained a packing credit foreign currency facility of $28.50 million through her firm, Radhashree Jewellers Company.
The CBI alleges that out of the funds transferred via the LOUs, $30 million were used by both Nirav Modi and Purvi Mehta through a credit facility obtained by Radhashree Jewellers, with the assistance of Mehta.
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