(Image source from: India Today)

A Red Corner Notice (RCN) has been issued by the Interpol against Nehal Deepak Modi, brother of fugitive diamantaire on charges of the money laundering.

The appeal to issue an RCN against Nehal was made to Interpol by Enforcement Directorate in his connection with the alleged Rs 13,600 crore fraudulent bank transactions at the Punjab National Bank (PNB).

Nehal, a Belgian citizen, is currently sheltering in the United States.

According to a statement by Enforcement Directorate, Nehal lent a hand to his brother Nirav Modi in laundering money. He also had links with Ithaca Trust, an entity set up to fund and buy properties for Nirav Modi with money fraudulently taken from Punjab National Bank, reports said.

Nirav Modi is currently lodging in a London jail.

The Enforcement Directorate had found that Nehal knowingly and intentionally assisted Nirav Modi in concealing the alleged laundering of money.

Detailing the role of Nehal, the ED complaint had said that after the crisis (Rs 13,600 crore scam at Punjab National Bank), Nehal Modi smashed all the cell phones of all dummy directors in Dubai and Hong Kong and arranged for their tickets to Cairo, which he believed was safe haven.

The central agency registered the case against Nirav Modi on charges of money laundering on the basis of the FIR filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation in February 2017.

Nirav Modi and his uncle Mehul Choksi are being investigated by the ED and the CBI after PNB alleged that they cheated the bank of Rs 13,500 crore along with some other bank employees.   

The duo, who fled India before details of the fraud came out in January 2018, also face charges under the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act.

By Sowmya Sangam