Odisha Govt Scraps Gitanjali Gems Project Of Nirav Modi Near Cuttack

Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government has scarped the gems project of diamond jeweller Nirav Modi in the state, Industries Minister Ananta Das said here on Thursday.

Talking to mediapersons after a press briefing on the ensuing Make in Odisha Conclave here, Das said the state government had allotted land to Nirav Modi for the proposed Gitanjali Gems Park near Cuttack.

“Since Modi fled the country after Enforcement Directorate (ED) found his complicity in the mega financial fraud to the tune of Rs 13,000 crore in the Punjab National Bank (PNB), the Odisha government has taken possession of the land allotted to him near Barang, on the outskirts of Cuttack. Besides, the state government has also confiscated the money he had deposited for the proposed project,” the minister added.

On October 6, the ED had attached 11 properties worth over Rs 56 crore of Nirav Modi in Dubai. The probe agency in September this year had attached his and his family members’ assets worth Rs 637 crore, including two apartments at the Central Park in New York.

The agency, till now, has attached assets worth over Rs 700 crore of Nirav Modi and his family in India.