Two Fires Destroy Nirav Modi's Old Factory
January 12, 26
(IDEX Online) - Two fires at a diamond factory that belonged to Firestar - the luxury brand owned by fugitive Nirav Modi - have reportedly destroyed everything that was inside, including computers, documents and safes.
The premises, in Surat, India, were sealed by India's Enforcement Directorate after the company, which once boasted $2.3bn in annual sales, entered liquidation in February 2020.
Local media reports say the first fire broke out on Thursday night (8 January). It damaged part of the ground floor but was contained.
The following night (9 January) a second blaze engulfed the entire building. It took six hours for firefighters to bring it under control. A fire department source said everything inside had been reduced to ashes.
Police have launched an investigation into the two consecutive fires. There was no power or water supplies to the building and broken gates and windows suggest there may have been unauthorized entry.
Modi, aged 54, who was founder, chairman and CEO of Firestar Diamond International, fled India in January 2018, just before news broke that the Punjab National Bank (PNB) had been defrauded of $1.85bn.
He, and his uncle Mehul Choksi, have both been named by the Central Bureau of Investigation and Enforcement Directorate as prime suspects in the PNB case.
Modi was arrested in London in March 2019 and has been in custody ever since, during a prolonged legal battle against extradition. His appeal is due to be heard in March.
File pic of Nirav Modi.