India's Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has asked Interpol to issue a Red Corner Notice against absconded celebrity jeweller, Nirav Modi, who Indian investigators want to question in relation to the US$2 billion banking scam involving Punjab National Bank (PNB).

The case pertains to Modi allegedly cheating the state-run bank through the fraudulent issuance of letters of undertaking (LoUs) and foreign letters of credit (L/Cs).

Arrest and extradition

The CBI has written to the international police force asking them to issue the notice that would allow Interpol member countries to arrest and extradite Nirav Modi, who fled India in January shortly before PNB filed a complaint with the CBI.

Modi was last seen in public during a press call in January when he was photographed at Davos, Switzerland alongside some of India's top business people and Indian prime-minister Narendra Modi, who is not related to the jeweller.

Family involvement

A week later, the CBI said it wanted to question Modi on the basis of PNB's complaint against him.

The bureau also wants to question Modi's wife, brother and his uncle, Mehul Choksi, who also fled India in January.

The case centres on allegations that those wanted for questioning cheated PNB through the fraudulent issuance of LoUs and foreign L/Cs.

This article represents the views of the author and not necessarily those of the ICC or Coastline Solutions.