Edmond Dantes: The name who led ED to Nirav Modi in UK

Long before a UK newspaper caught absconding diamond trader Nirav Modi strolling in London, sheathed in an ostrich-skin jacket, India’s Enforcement Directorate not only knew that he was holed up in the English capital, but the agency also was able to track every single movement of his – a visit to a saloon, a dinner appointment, even a hotel reservation in another part of Europe. And the ED sleuths had only one person to thank for this goldmine of information on Modi – Edmond Dantes.

An ED team had followed every move of Dantes online for two weeks - having found his email address during a raid at one of Modi's Mumbai offices and later stumbling upon a Facebook account linked to it – when the lucky break came in August 2018. Chatting with a Los Angeles-based friend, Dante wrote – "Hi, this is Nirav, I am not active on FB and that's why I am under this name. Hope you are well."

A stunned ED, who till then had thought Dante was a close associate of Modi, shared the information with Scotland Yard and handed over to its officers a map of Modi's movements in London over several weeks. Since the email address – edmonddantes**@gmail.com – was linked to Modi’s phone and a bunch of apps, the inbox every day used to be full of notifications, acknowledgements and receipts – which not only proved he was in London, but also gave a clear picture of his movements. "Every morning we would have a log of his movements. The inbox would be full of messages like – 'how was your visit to xyz restaurant'; 'hope your ride with us was comfortable'; 'we hereby confirm your hotel booking.' Sitting in India, we were able to track every step Modi took," he said.


Modi fled India in January 2018 after three firms he controlled - Diamond R US, Solar Exports and Stellar Diamond were accused of drawing over Rs 6,000 crore fraudulently from the Punjab National Bank's Mumbai branch via Letters of Undertaking (LoU). A Mumbai Prevention of Money Laundering Act court issued an open-ended non-bailable warrant against him on July 27, 2018.

Modi was arrested on March 20 this year in London. On June 12, the UK High Court rejected his bail application, Modi's fourth attempt to secure bail. In her judgment, Justice Ingrid Simler concluded there are "substantial grounds" to believe that the 48-year-old fugitive diamantaire would fail to surrender as he does possess the means to abscond.