Who is Nirav Modi?

If he is not making Priyanka Chopra feel daddy s pampered little girl he is probably co-hosting a Michelin chef s table for Bollywood and business A listers Vikas and Gayatri Oberoi Aryama Sundaram Pirojsha Godrej VryaSwati Piramal and Sonam Kapoor with Massimo Bottura. But for a man always at the centre of a glittering and effervescent universe Nirav Modi is enviably taciturn. Even when he speaks the Wharton school dropout turned hautest diamantiere with a weakness for Canali suits Bentley cars Francis Newton Souza canvases is almost inaudible. Not his eponymous jewellery label though. Within a span of a decade and emerging out of nowhere it has blazed its trail across high streets of Madison Avenue or MGM Macau and Marina Bay Sands to emerge as the biggest luxury label to have ever come out of Asia. Till the law caught up with him. Meanwhile his pieces ranging from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 50 crore have found a permanent perch across celebrity collarbones causing both awe and admiration among his peers and a jet setting http://ds-spanndecken.de/user/kkmytata/ clientele who swear by their fluidic yet functional designs. More importantly his is a global brand with quintessentially Indian sensibilities. The faces that sell his dreams Andreea Diaconu Rosie Huntington-Whiteley or even PeeCee -- are global icons who have been ambassadors of marque labels like Gucci Dolce & Gabbana or Belstaff in the past. Its Made in India but for a global audience. So when he celebrated the 5th anniversary of his brand he hosted a glittering event for his global uber lux clients who had flown in at Jodhpur s Umaid Bhavan for a show that would have dazzled any normal soul. Models sashayed in clothes made of fresh flower petals handmade the night before the show in a blinding display of opulence and grandeur. The glistening rocks were the showstoppers as were the bracelets and earrings. There has always been whispers but he lived a life of glamour and mixed in the right circles. After a point nobody cared quipped an old acquaintance who did not wish to be quoted. Most of the people who know him declined to speak after news about the 1.8 billion PNB fraud allegations broke and those who did declined to be identified. Many of India s top designers flatly denied any past association with Modi. Other admitted to collaborations but said this was handled not by them but by sponsors. But beyond the news flow or the pomp NiravModi 46 is a quintessentially sharp Gujarati entrepreneur dead serious about building a global empire. The selection of his models stores or even roping in former Facebook country head Krithiga Reddy as an advisor underscores that burning ambition. An ex-employee on condition of anonymity said Modi s strength lied in the fact that he was actively involved in all aspects of running the company. He believed in the details From designing to HR policies to minute details of any event he was happy inputing. He was among the first to supply diamonds according to client specifications in the 1990s assorting them by size colour weight and size to enhance the buying experience; the earliest to sense the shift in global manufacturing bases from Europe to Asia or even the importance of retail. The jewellery brand was thus a natural progression. When an intricately designed lattice necklace in pink and colourless diamonds with a pear-shaped 12.29 carat Golconda diamond at its centre racked up 3.56 million at the Christie s Hong Kong auction in 2010 Nirav Modi finally had his breakout moment. His associates argue that Modi the first Indian jeweller to get featured on the cover of Christie s catalogue had been plotting his moves from much before. He had already in 2005 bought into Frederick Goldman his biggest customer in the US that was then seven times his size. This in turn gave him a direct access to outlets like JC Penny Sears and even a Walmart. Two years later Modi expanded his US distribution through a majority partnership in Sandberg & Sikorski a vendor to the US Armed Forces and owners of the 120-year-old luxury bridal jewellery brand A Jaffe. Till date his shopping bill is a neat 50 million and with his eyes on the luxury watch market most expect more. For a man who has built a billion dollar enterprise diamonds are in his DNA. His father also a diamond jeweller migrated to Antwerp Belgium but Modi returned to Mumbai to learn the trade from maternal uncle Mehul Choksi who like Modi have also faced allegations of fraud. Modi s twin businesses Firestar a trading arm which he now says he will sell to pay all his dues and his retail label have provided the foundation that saw him even plan an IPO. With CBI and other investigative agencies hot on his heels unlike the endless band an unbroken line of diamonds set in an almost invisible 18k white gold band that he created over 2 decades his empire may come crashing at the same speed in which it took off in the first place.
Actor Priyanka Chopra the global brand ambassador of Nirav Modi diamond jewellery house sued the designer s company for defrauding her. However after the news of his alleged fraudulent transactions broke his tryst with some Bollywood celebrities have also resurfaced. Modi who has been named in Punjab National Bank s 11000 crore fraud. Chopra s management has alleged that she wasn t paid the amount the two parties had agreed on. The actor has accused the jewellery designer of not paying her for the ad campaign. Actress Priyanka Chopra s mother Madhu Chopra speaks to TIMES NOW on Punjab National Bank fraud case says shocked to see what is happening #NiravModiLootsIndia pic.twitter.com/J0iD1E5ETz TIMES NOW (@TimesNow) February 15 2018 Within a span of a decade and emerging out of nowhere the Wharton dropout created a brand that became eponymous with Bollywood and Hollywood glitterati. His pieces range from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 50 crore and have found a permanent place across celebrity collarbones causing both awe and admiration among his peers. For a man who has built a billion dollar enterprise diamonds are in his DNA. His father also a diamond jeweller migrated to Antwerp Belgium but Modi returned to Mumbai to learn the trade from maternal uncle Mehul Choksi who like Modi have also faced allegations of fraud.
A look at the headlines right now:Enforcement Directorate files money laundering case against billionaire jeweller Nirav Modi: The agency raided multiple locations related to Modi in Surat Mumbai and Delhi on Thursday. Seventeen killed many injured after former student opens fire at Florida school: The gunman was arrested in a neighbouring city about an hour after the incident. More officials will attend events and meetings in the North East PM Modi promises Arunachal Pradesh: Modi was addressing a gathering during his day-long visit to Arunachal Pradesh before participating in two rallies in poll-bound Tripura.Haryana CM rides to Jind on a bike to take stock of preparation for Amit Shah s rally: The state BJP unit has made it mandatory for all ministers and party MLAs to arrive at the event on motorcycles.Wholesale inflation slowed in January to 2.84% shows government data: The WPI inflation had reached an eight-month high of 3.93% in November 2017 but has come down since then.South African President Jacob Zuma steps down: The 75-year-old leader said violence and division within the African National Congress had influenced his decision. Sher Bahadur Deuba resigns as Nepal prime minister Left leader KP Oli to take over again: Oli s Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist) was the largest party in elections held in December 2017. Uttar Pradesh government will accept SC verdict in Ayodhya dispute says deputy chief minister: Keshav Prasad Maurya added that the state will not intervene in any negotiations to resolve the row. Nagaland CM says his party still open to alliance as long as BJP does not dominate religion: In Tripura voting in the Charilam seat was pushed to March 12 after a CPI(M) candidate died during campaigning. Top police officers conspired to kill Sohrabuddin Sheikh says brother s lawyer in Bombay HC: The High Court is hearing pleas challenging the discharge of several police officers in the alleged fake encounter case.
MUMBAI: Diamonds always draw attention but it s rare when the diamantaire seems to shine brighter than the stones he sets. Despite making a late entry into the retail business in 2010 Nirav Modi quickly gained a reputation as India s jeweller to the stars as Hollywood A-listers from Kate Winslet and Dakota Johnson to Taraji P Henson walked the red carpet in diamonds from his eponymous brand. Late last year Priyanka Chopra was roped in as brand ambassador. By 2013 he had made it to the Forbes billionaires list. The allegations of bank fraud that have emerged against Modi tarnished a brand that had been as carefully crafted as his signature stretchable bracelets. His public relations team made sure he got his share of flattering profiles in the media. One luxury writer from Los Angeles was clearly floored after Modi closed his entire Delhi store just for me so that the journalist could experience the luxury that most wealthy buyers have and drove him to the airport afterwards. Though Modi 48 comes from a family of diamond brokers in Antwerp Belgium and grew up in the trade he s often told journalists that he didn t plan to join the business. He got into Wharton studied finance for a year dropped out and decided to get into diamond trading after all. As a 19-year-old he was sent to Mumbai to learn the ropes from his maternal uncle Mehul Choksi chairman of Gitanjali Gems. In 1999 he set up Firestar Diamond to source rare diamonds and acquired a string of international companies that helped him build his network and get into contract manufacturing. Apart from India it has manufacturing units in Russia Armenia and South Africa. It was in 2008 that a request from a friend for a rare piece of jewellery got Modi interested in retail. Read also: Rs 11 000 crore PNB fraud will have a domino effect on banks Modi opened his first flagship boutique in New Delhi s Defence Colony in 2014; a store in Mumbai s Kala Ghoda followed the next year. At the glittering opening of his Madison Avenue store in New York in 2015 actors Naomi Watts Nimrat Kaur and Lisa Haydon and model Coco Rocha were among the celebrities who showed up. He also has boutiques in London Singapore Beijing and Macau. Last year he purchased Rhythm House the iconic Mumbai music shop for a reported Rs 32 crore with plans to turn it into a retail space. Modi who is often described as soft-spoken and unassuming is reported to have strategically picked up rare diamonds at bargain prices during the slowdown in 2009. The move paid dividends. In November 2010 Christie s auctioned his Golconda Lotus Necklace with a flawless 12-carat Golconda diamond for over Rs 16 crore and put it on the cover of its auction catalogue the first for an Indian jeweller without a 100-year history. Modi can t draw but explains his ideas to his craftspersons who go back and forth with the designs and prototypes until they match the vision in his head he s told the media. For now at least his vision of building a high-end global brand and taking his company public through an IPO may have to be shelved. Read this story in Gujarati
.story-content span .story-content p .story-content div color:#000!important;font-family: open sans Arial!important;font-size:15px!important ALSO READ NPA rules and Rs 110-bn fraud can put one-fourth of PNB s net worth at risk Nirav Modi punches Rs 113-bn hole in PNB through fraudulent transactions Scam worth Rs 110 bn: PNB detects fraud transactions; stock price drops 10% PNB detects 1 772 million fraudulent transactions; stock slips 7% Punjab National Bank Q3 net profit up 11.1% at Rs 2.3 bn bad loans decline span.p-content div id = div-gpt line-height:0;font-size:0 Just about a week ago diamond jeweller Nirav Modi opened a new store in Macau. Barely three months ago he had opened a second store in DLF Emporio s Chanakya mall in New Delhi with plans for another one in Bengaluru later this year. Modi has been relentless in building his brand regardless of banks having a problem of fraudulent and unauthorised transactions with his companies. His website is running Valentine s Day promotions beside pictures of Hollywood celebrities wearing his jewellery and details of the fashion shows he sponsored recently. Modi s ambition was to expand to 100 stores by 2020 not unusual for a brand that is trying to grow. He has boutiques in New York Las Vegas Honolulu Singapore and Beijing. There is one store in London three stores in Macau and four stores in Hong Kong where Modi s sister Purvi Mehta is based and runs the company s design division. Besides Bengaluru another boutique was slated to open in London. All this could be derailed now as lenders to Modi his company Firestar Diamond and other firms huddle into emergency meetings to try and figure out what their exposure in either loans or bank guarantees to the diamond company is. On Tuesday the Central Bureau of Investigation received two complaints from Punjab National Bank (PNB) against Modi and a jewellery company alleging fraudulent transactions worth about 1.8 billion. Calls and emails made to Nirav Modi and Firestar CFO Vipul Ambani were not returned till the time of going to press. One mainstream gold jeweler who has been in the trade for over two decades and declined to be named said banks giving funds to fraudulent companies was not an isolated instance. He added there was a scramble of private equity funds and banks in search for rock star businesses to fund and maximise investments while these companies promise 24 per cent internal rate of return launch multiple stores and deploy endless amounts with fancy media campaigns to support the whole illusion . As a jeweller with multiple stores he said he knew the ground reality of sales and profits especially in the past two years given the note ban as well as the goods and services tax roll-out. Others in the industry do not condone Nirav Modi s pattern of behaviour. Pramod Agarwal chairman of the Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council said While it is the endeavour of every industry body to regulate behaviour of its members and enforce standards the reality is that we cannot control the behaviour of a few stray elements. Nor do we support it. A decade-long apprenticeship under his uncle Mehul Choksi in Mumbai gave Modi training on everything from diamond polishing to retail after which he decided to get involved in building his own brand. But before all that there were a string of acquisitions in the US. In 2005 he acquired the wholesale division of Frederick Goldman a national diamond retailer. Two years later he bought Sandberg & Sikorski the largest jewellery supplier to the US Armed Forces and A Jaffe a 120-year luxury bridal jewellery label for 50 million. The acquisitions supported the private-label business supplying to the military as well as to department stores JC Penney Costco and jewellery retailer Zales. In 2009 Firestar Modi s wholesale business opened offices in Hong Kong South Africa Belgium Dubai Armenia and Russia following which in 2010 the Nirav Modi brand was launched. In 2012 Modi also acquired Fantasy Diamond a jewellery wholesaler. He brought in professionals to do what he could not. Angelina Ypma global president at Nirav Modi once worked for Bulgari and Cartier while Vipul Ambani was brought in as CFO from institutional brokerage firm Tower Capital where he was a senior executive. Modi who never counted the jewellery fraternity as part of his core universe has said in the past that most of his friends ended up being accountants. The bent of mind was what they had in common he would say.
By: Express News Service | Mumbai | Updated: February 15 2018 12:45 am The case has been booked under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections related to criminal conspiracy cheating and provisions of Prevention of Corruption Act. (Express photo by Purushottam Sharma/Archives) Top News Bangladesh vs Sri Lanka Live Cricket Streaming Online 1st T20: When and where to watch Ban vs SL T20I tv coverageValentine s Day horror: 22-year-old hacked to death by stalker released from jail 2 days agoPNB fraud case: Congress accuses Modi govt of letting businessmen escape with public money BJP hits backThe CBI has booked diamond jeweller Nirav Modi his wife Ami Modi brother Nishal Modi and his maternal uncle Mehul Choksi in connection with an alleged Rs 280 crore cheating case after it received a complaint from Punjab National Bank (PNB) on January 29. The FIR registered by the CBI said that a few public servants committed abuse of official position to cause pecuniary advantage to Diamond R US Solar Exports Stellar Diamonds and wrongful loss of Rs 280.70 crore to Punjab National Bank during 2017 . Modi his wife brother and Choksi are all partners of these three firms the CBI FIR said. The case has been booked under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections related to criminal conspiracy cheating and provisions of Prevention of Corruption Act. This matter has no affiliation legal or otherwise with Firestar International Limited which is the flagship enterprise of Mr. Nirav Modi said the spokesperson of Firestar International. In the firm Diamond R US Mr Choksi was a former partner and retired as Partner as far back as 1999. For the period under scrutiny and for more than a decade prior Mr. Choksi was not involved in any manner with the said firm. In http://kfckk.affiliatblogger.com/10882533/kfc-wednesday-offers-at-shopozo the other 2 firms mentioned in the articles viz. M/s Solar Exports and M/s Stellar Diamonds Mr. Choksi has never had anything to do with them in any capacity and he is not involved in any dealings that these firms may have had with any banks or financial institutions the spokesperson of Mehul Choksi said. According to the complaint of PNB two of its employees have fraudulently issued eight letters of undertakings (LOUs) and transmitted SWIFT instructions to the overseas branches of Indian Banks to raise buyers credit of at least Rs 280 crore for Modi s firms without making entries in the bank system . The bank alleged that it is making an in depth inquiry to find outstanding LOUs which have not been detected. The bank has alleged in the complaint that a fraudulent issuance of LOUs took place on January 16 2018 for and on behalf of the accused firms which approached the bank and presented a set of import documents to the branch with a request to allow buyers credit for making payment to overseas suppliers. The bank has requested the CBI to issue a look out notice against all of the alleged accused to ensure that they do not leave the country to avoid process of law . In January 2017 The Indian Express had reported that the income tax department had raided over 50 offices and residential premises of Modi one of India s top diamond merchants and seized cash jewellery and several documents that allegedly revealed tax evasion by his firms. The agency had allegedly found evidence of bogus purchases and cash sales that were not recorded in the books of the firms. It had also surveyed the offices of Gitanjali Group one of the largest diamond companies in India and a listed jewellery retailer promoted by Choksi in connection with the investigation. On Monday CBI also conducted searches in several locations in Mumbai and parts of Gujarat in connection with the case said the CBI spokesperson. For all the latest India News download Indian Express App More Top News Case against internet sensation Priya Prakash Varrier s song for hurting religious sentiments Airtel s Rs 93 prepaid plan recharge to now offer 1GB data unlimited calls for 28 days No Comments.