As the details of the multi-billion $ scandal at the Indian Nationalized bank, Punjab National Bank (#PNBScam) unfolds, the world is watching with interest and wondering about the implications. Many around the world are bound to see the headlines describing the involvement of diamond merchant Nirav Modi and will perhaps be wondering about his relation to the Indian Prime Minister, Mr. Narendra Modi.
![Nirav_Modi_IT[1]](https://bloggaramchaicom.files.wordpress.com/2018/02/nirav_modi_it1.jpeg?w=840)
Wikipedia explains “Modi is a surname in India. The surname is most commonly found amongst people from the Northern and Western states of Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Rajasthan and Gujarat. It is mostly associated with Baniyas, grain merchants and grocers.”
At this time, details of the mega-fraud are still emerging and journalists are trying to piece together the facts (e.g Five things you need to know about Nirav Modi and PNB fraud). According to media reports,
Indian-born diamond jewellery designer Nirav Modi is the founder of the $2.3 billion Firestar Diamond and was ranked #57 in the Forbes list of India’s billionaires in 2017.
Modi grew up in Belgium, dropped out of Wharton and moved to India where he got trained in the diamond trade under his uncle, according to Forbes.
He went on to launch his own Nirav Modi brand with 16 stores in locations such as Delhi, Mumbai, New York, Hong Kong, London and Macau.
A few recent articles on the scandal
- PNB fraud: Nirav Modi’s passport revoked, assets seized, Look Out Circular issued: Ravi Shankar Prasad – The hindu
- PNB fraud case: Govt revokes Nirav Modi’s passport, assets worth Rs 1300 crore seized – MSN
- Nirav Modi, the jewellery designer at the centre of Rs 11,300 crore PNB fraud – Business Today
- Government Looked The Other Way When Nirav Modi Slipped Out Of India: Congress – Bloomberg
- How PNB says it fell victim to country’s biggest bank fraud – Economic Times
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