The Switzerland government on Thursday, 27 June froze four bank accounts belonging to fugitive diamantaire Nirav Modi and his sister Purvi, acting on a request made by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).
The financial assets in the four bank accounts reportedly amount to more than $6 million.
The ED had sent a request to the Swiss government to freeze the accounts nearly four months ago, reported CNN News18.
According to PTI, the request was made on the grounds that the money deposited in these accounts was illegally siphoned out of PNB and other banks in India. The Swiss government accepted the ED’s plea and the same has now been considered as proceeds of crime.
Remanded to Custody Till 25 July
Meanwhile, Nirav Modi appeared before London's Westminster Magistrate's court for a routine remand hearing via video link.
During the hearing, the Judge said Modi will remain in custody till 25 July.
Judge Jonathan Radway presided over the short remand hearing at Westminster Magistrates' Court via video link from Wandsworth prison and re-confirmed 29 July as the date for the next case management hearing.
The legal team for Modi, led by barrister Jessica Jones, brought to the judge's attention an issue related to the nearly 5,000-page set of documentation submitted by the UK's Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) on behalf of the Indian government.
They sought the court's intervention in sanctioning easier access of the paperwork for Modi to be able to read through and give suitable instructions, including a request for the documents to be uploaded onto an internet-free laptop.
Modi, who has been lodged at Wandsworth prison in south-west London since his arrest in March in connection with the nearly USD 2 billion PNB fraud and money laundering case, appeared for the first time since his bail appeal was rejected by the UK High Court earlier this month, his fourth attempt at bail.
(With inputs from PTI)
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