Nirav Modi has been living in the UK since sneaking out of India in 2018.
Fugitive diamond merchant and the prime accused in multi-crore Punjab National Bank (PNB) scam Nirav Modi has told a court that he has done nothing wrong. Modi in his reply to special PMLA court on Enforcement Directorate's application to declare him fugitive offender under new Fugitive Economic Offenders Act said that the alleged scam as 'blown out of proportion'.
"I have done nothing wrong. PNB scam was a civil transaction, blown out of proportion. I can't come back to country due to security reasons," Nirav Modi said.
The British authorities have told Indian agencies that Nirav Modi has been living in the UK since sneaking out of India after the bank fraud came to light in 2018.
India is working to get Modi extradited from the UK and Interpol arrest warrant has also been notified against him.
Earlier this week, the Enforcement Directorate said it has attached a factory in Thailand worth over Rs 13 crore of a Gitanjali group company, owned by absconding diamond jeweller Mehul Choksi, in connection with the alleged USD 2 billion PNB fraud case.
The agency said it has issued a provisional order for attachment, under the PMLA, of the factory premise owned by Abbeycrest (Thailand) Limited which is a "group company" of the Gitanjali group of companies.
