New Delhi, January 5: Diamond Merchant Nirav Modi on Saturday in a reply to Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court said that the multicrore Punjab National Bank scam was a civil transaction and refused to come back in India citing security reasons. Nirav Modi said this in reply to special PMLA court on Enforcement Directorate(ED)'s application to declare him fugitive offender under new Fugitive Economic Offenders Act. Nirav Modi, at Centre of the Rs 11,300-Crore PNB Fraud Case, Left India Early This Year: Who is He?

“I’ve done nothing wrong. Punjab National Bank scam was a civil transaction, blown out of proportion and can’t come back to the country due to security reasons”, his lawyer told the Court, reported news agency ANI. PNB Scam: Nirav Modi's Team Tries to Destroy Evidence; Hid 50 Cartons of Documents.

This comes after, British authorities on December 28 informed to India that Nirav Modi is living in the United Kingdom. In Rajya Sabha, replying to a question, MoS for External Affairs Vijay Kumar Singh said, "In August 2018, the government sent two requests, one from the CBI and the other from the Enforcement Directorate, to the authorities of the UK seeking the extradition of Nirav Modi to India."

On Friday, ED has taken a major action against diamond jeweller Mehul Choksi, Nirav Modi's Uncle. The ED has provisionally attached a Thailand factory premise of Choksi which is worth Rs 13.14 Crore. The factory premise is owned by Abbeycrest Limited which is a part of Gitanjali Group.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 05, 2019 12:39 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).