Mumbai:  A judicial request meant for UK was issued by a special CBI court in Mumbai after the agency moved a petition in which it sought to attach a bank account of beleaguered diamond trader Nirav Modi. Modi is the key accused in the fraud related to the Punjab National Bank (PNB) for an amount of Rs. 12,700 – crore.

According to the information provided by CBI counsel Om Prakash in the court, Modi’s account in Barclays bank in the UK had an amount of about RS 12,79,517 pounds (INR 12 crore) and USD 1,244 (over Rs. 80,000).

The probe conducted by the Central Bureau of Invetigation (CBI) has revealed that the bank showed its intention to terminate its relationship with the Nirav Modi Ltd and was ready to pay the money back to the billionaire diamantaire.

As per the Om Prakash assertion, the agency believed that the money with the UK bank was proceeds of crime.

Special CBI court judge SR Tamboli allowed the request be made and issued a Letter Rogatory (LR) to the UK and all this was done only after hearing the agency’s plea to attach the account.

Letter Rogatory, which is common term for a judicial request issued by courts on the request of an investigating agency for any information that it wants from another country.

After the issuance of the request, it needs to be delivered through diplomatic channels to the competent court in that country from where the agency has sought information.

Nirav Modi along with his jeweler uncle, Mehul Choksi are accused of defrauding the PNB to the tune of around Rs. 12,700 crore.

The Central Bureau of Investigation has held 19 people so far relating to the fraud. A separate and independent probe is also underway by the Enforcement Directorate.

As per the allegation, LoUs (Letters of Undertaking and LCs (Letters of Credit) of worth nearly USD 2 billion were issued fraudulently to the companies of the uncle-nephew duo from the PNB’s Brady House branch in south Mumbai through SWIFT (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication) messages.

For collusion in the case, several bank employees have been booked, CBI and ED officials have said.

Banks issue LoU as a guarantee for a short term credit to the applicant when they have their own branches abroad. If the applicant defaults, the bank issuing the LoU is required to pay the liability to the credit-giving bank, along with interest.

Both the uncle Choksi and nephew Modi have been booked in two cases which is related to the bank fraud that came to light in February.

The uncle-nephew duo had fled India in the first week of January, just days before the PNB said that it has detected a fraud in the bank.

As per the government’s statement, Modi was tracked to be living in Hong Kong. Government has sent a request to Hong Kong for the diamond trader’s provisional arrest.

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