Interpol issues red notice against wife of Nirav Modi

The Interpol has put out a Red Corner Notice, or a global arrest warrant against Ami Modi, the wife of Nirav Modi, prime accused in the PNB bank fraud case, on charges of money laundering which accounts over USD 2 billion.

They said the ‘red notice’ has been issued on Tuesday by the global police body on the request of the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

Once such a notice issued against a fugitive, the Interpol asks its 192-member countries to arrest or detain the person if spotted in their countries after which extradition or deportation proceedings can begin.

Ami Modi was last seen in the United States in 2019. Probe agencies are unsure of her current location. Nirav Modi has been jailed in the United Kingdom, where he is fighting extradition to India.

Ami Modi is stated to have left country soon after the alleged bank fraud case came into light in 2018. The ED has charged Ami Modi for conspiring and money laundering with her husband and jeweller Nirav Modi apart from his uncle Mehul Choksi and others under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

Nirav Modi has been declared a fugitive economic offender by a Mumbai court early this year and the court had also ordered confiscation of his assets. The ED has already confiscated about Rs 329 crore of his linked properties.

The businessman, Choksi and others are being probed by the ED on money laundering charges in connection with an over USD 2 billion alleged bank fraud at a PNB branch in Mumbai.

Similar Interpol notices have been earlier been issued against Nirav Modi’s younger brother Nehal Modi and sister Purvi Modi.