The Aryavarth Express
Aryavarth(Mumbai): The Special Court under the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act and the Prevention of Money Laundering Act in Greater Mumbai recently allowed an application filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) seeking clarification and modification of its earlier order dated June 8, 2020, in the case against Nirav Modi, who has been declared a Fugitive Economic Offender (FEO).
In the order dated June 8, 2020, the Special Court had declared Nirav Modi as an FEO and ordered the confiscation of his assets and properties. Pursuant to this order, the ED had attached 68 assets amounting to Rs. 329.66 crores, including an immovable property situated at 103, Marathon House, 200 Marylebone Road, London NW15PL, UK, which was illegally held by a British Virgin Islands company within a trust structure known as a Deposit Trust.
In January 2023, the Deposit Trust filed an application before the UK High Court for winding up the trust and obtaining an order for the disposal of the assets held by the trust, including the London property. The ED participated in the proceedings before the UK High Court for the repatriation of the confiscated assets to India.
The UK High Court passed an order on June 7, 2023, permitting the trustees of the Deposit Trust to sell the London property. The ED’s legal representatives pointed out that the confiscation order might become infructuous in the jurisdiction of the English Court if the property ceased to be “recoverable property” within the meaning of the relevant UK law.
The Special Court, after hearing the learned Special Public Prosecutor and considering the necessity of modifying the order to ensure its execution, allowed the application and modified its earlier order to the extent of the immovable property situated at 103, Marathon House, 200 Marylebone Road, London NW15PL, UK. The court directed that the amount received from the sale, auction, or any other form, including the winding up proceedings of the said property, be credited and paid to the Central Government of India.
The Special Court’s order paves the way for the sale of Nirav Modi’s London property and the repatriation of the proceeds to India, ensuring that the confiscation order remains enforceable and the assets are not lost due to legal technicalities in the UK jurisdiction. The order is a significant step in the ongoing efforts to bring the fugitive economic offender to justice and recover the proceeds of his alleged crimes.
