Subhash Shankar Parab, a close associate of fugitive jeweller Nirav Modi, was deported from Egypt today by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), official sources said.
Mr. Parab, who fled to Cairo in 2018, landed in Mumbai early this morning after deportation, officials said, adding that he will be produced in a CBI court at noon.
He is the key accused in the ₹ 7,000 crores Nirav Modi bank fraud case. Mr. Parab, who was the Deputy General Manager (Finance) in Firestar Diamond, could spill the beans on the country’s biggest financial scam in the state-run Punjab National Bank (PNB) allegedly perpetrated by Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi with a combined loss of ₹ 13,000 crores, officials said.
Who is He?
The 49-year-old is believed to be the right-hand man of Nirav Modi and a senior director in the firms – Firestar Diamond International Ltd and Diamond R US – in Dubai.
He had played a key role in the ₹13,578-crore Punjab National Bank (PNB) scam. He fled to Cairo from Dubai in January 2018, around the time when Modi and his uncle Mehul Choksi fled India along with their families.
A senior CBI officer said Parab, who directly reported to Modi, was brought to Mumbai and put under arrest upon his arrival. He will be produced before a Mumbai court to be taken into custody.
Investigation into the PNB fraud revealed that Parab personally supervised the collection of letters of undertaking (LoUs), fraudulently issued in connivance with PNB official Gokulnath Shetty.
In the suburbs of Cairo, the employees were kept in confinement in two bungalows for about four-five months. They were threatened with dire consequences if they did not cooperate. Their passports were also taken away by Mr. Parab, as alleged.
Mr. Modi had allegedly got the mobile phones of all these employees destroyed in Dubai. A United Arab Emirates-based server through which the accused persons communicated among themselves secretively was also disposed of.
Over some time, almost all the employees managed to fly out of Cairo. Their statements were later recorded by the investigating agencies.
Mr. Modi is currently lodged in Wandsworth Jail in London. He has appealed against his extradition to India. In February 2021, a Westminster Magistrates’ Court had allowed his extradition. It was also ratified by the United Kingdom’s Home Secretary.
About Fraud
Parab, according to the investigators, was in-charge of monitoring incoming and outgoing transactions of six Hong Kong companies that received over Rs 8,200 crore from the letter of undertakings (LoUs) issued by PNB, on behalf of Nirav Modi.
Fraudulent LoUs worth $3,741.93 million (approximately Rs 24,000 crore) were issued to firms allegedly controlled by Modi between 2011 and 2018. Of this, the total current outstanding fraudulent LoUs is $1,015.34 million.
Modi and his uncle Mehul Choksi have been declared fugitive economic offenders. Modi is currently in jail in the UK, while Choksi is currently in Antigua and Barbuda.
