Nirav Modi's Brother Indicted over $1.4m Diamond Fraud
December 20, 20
(IDEX Online) - A brother of fugitive billionaire Nirav Modi has been charged in the USA with a $1.4m diamond fraud.
Nehal Modi, a Belgian citizen, is accused of "grand larceny in the first degree" for allegedly obtaining gems by fraud from the wholesaler LLD Diamonds USA, in Manhattan, New York, in 2015. He has been indicted by the New York Supreme Court.
He allegedly claimed the diamonds would be sold to the Costco Wholesale Corporation. He is accused of taking $2.6m of diamonds, paying back $1.2m to LLD, but pocketing the remainder.
Mr Modi, 41, (seen above in an Interpol picture) has told the court that he is not guilty of the crime, according to the New York Post.
His older brother Nirav Modi, 49, is currently fighting extradition from Britain to India, where he is accused of a $1.85bn fraud against the Punjab National Bank (PNB).
He allegedly persuaded corrupt bank workers to approve low-rate loans for importing foreign goods, which he used to pay off debts. A ruling on his extradition is expected in January or February 2021.