PNB Fraud: I-T dept seeks details of Nirav Modi's accounts from foreign tax havens

NEW DELHI: The Indian tax authorities have written to counterparts in Jersey, the Bahamas, Cyprus, Singapore and Mauritius seeking details of jeweller Nirav Modi’s accounts and certain entities linked to him, said senior officials. Modi, his uncle Mehul Choksi and their companies are accused of defrauding Punjab National Bank through letters of undertaking (LoUs) and other instruments.

The entities cited above were used to direct funds to Indian companies. Tax authorities suspect the money may have been roundtripped via some of the tax havens through a clutch of trusts and other entities. “We have sought more details, information... Fresh references have been sent out,” said a senior income tax department official.

The department has sought details on transactions linked to the entities after it found some shell companies overseas had been used to send funds. Modi is said to have been a settlor and beneficiary of a trust, Monte Cristo, in Jersey. The underlying company of this trust, Monte Cristo Ventures Ltd, was incorporated in the Bahamas with UBS AG, Singapore.

This had not been disclosed under the Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets and Imposition of Tax Act, 2015, which afforded Indian residents a last opportunity to declare overseas assets as part of the government’s campaign to root out black money.

Besides, Modi group company Firestar International received funds from Mauritius-based entities Jade Bridge Holdings and Forcom Worldwide in the form of share capital and high share premiums, said the official.

This company also received funds from another Singapore-based company, Islington International Holding Pte Ltd, the beneficial owner of which was Modi's sister Purvi Mehta. Modi had received Rs 284 crore in March 2013 and April 2014 from Mauritius-based companies and Rs 271 crore from a Singaporebased entity.

The department has already issued a notice to Modi under the stringent black money law for nondisclosure of assets. Information from the jurisdictions cited above will help establish the source of funds, officials said.