Nirav Modi’s son moves HC to stop auction of rare paintings on March 5

Diamantaire Nirav Modi’s son, Rohin, has approached the Bombay high court (HC) seeking to stop the March 5 auction of rare paintings seized by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with the Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud case.

Modi is currently lodged in Wandsworth prison in London.

The paintings and other luxury items were seized from Modi’s houses by the agency after registering a money-laundering case against him and his uncle, Mehul Choksi.

Rohin’s petition seeks a direction to ED and the international auction house, Saffronart, to not go ahead with the auction on Thursday at Prabhadevi as the paintings belong to Rohin Trust and the petitioner is a beneficiary of the trust.

A bench comprising of acting chief justice BP Dharmadhikari and justice NR Borkar will hear the plea on Wednesday.

ED officials, who did not wish to be named, said they will contest the petition on grounds that 90% of the trust is owned by Nirav Modi’s wife, Ami, who is a co-accused in the ₹13,500-crore fraud case and that Rohin was a minor when the paintings were brought.

The agency has termed the seizures as “proceeds of crime” and has alleged that the dates of the auction were announced much earlier, but the petition was filed at the last moment.

Saffronart, in an online and offline auction (see box), has put up for sale 112 luxury assets seized from Modi.

The online auction began at 8pm on Tuesday and bidding for 72 luxury assets will close at 8pm on Wednesday. The assets for sale include handbags by renowned brands such as Chanel, Hermès, LouisVuitton, and Celine; a Cartier Asymmetric ‘Crash’ Wristwatch; and a Porsche Panamera S car, among other things.

On Thursday, a spring live auction will be held at Saffronart gallery and it will feature 40 more items, including 15 artworks.