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Rolls Royce Ghost, Porsche Panamera among 13 high-end Nirav Modi cars to be auctioned

A special PMLA court had allowed agencies to sell the high-end cars and paintings belonging to the fugitive diamantaire.

Rolls Royce Ghost, Porsche Panamera among 13 high-end Nirav Modi cars to be auctioned

Nirav Modi (L) and a representational image of a Rolls Royce Ghost (R). (Photos: IANS/Wikimedia Commons)

Thirteen high-end cars belonging to fugitive diamantaire Nirav Modi will be auctioned off by the Enforcement Directorate this month.

While the total worth of the Nirav Modi cars going under the hammer is not known, most of the cars are upwards of Rs 1 crore.

According to reports, the 13 cars include a Rolls Royce Ghost, a Porsche Panamera, two Mercedes Benz models, three Honda cars, a Toyota Fortuner and an Innova among others. While the market price of a Panamera in India is listed at upwards of Rs 2 crores, a Roll Royce Ghost costs anywhere above Rs 5 crore.

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The development comes days after 68 paintings owned by Modi were sold by the Income Tax Department that helped raise Rs 54.84 crore.

The auction, which will be held online, is likely to take place on 18 April. A special PMLA court had last month allowed agencies to sell the cars and a total of 178 paintings to realise the amount Modi owes to banks in the Rs 13,000-crore PNB fraud case.

While the I-T department’s auction was conducted by a private firm, the auction of the cars will be done by state-owned Metal Scrap Trade Corporation Limited (MSTC). All details of the cars will be put up on the MSTC website.

Reports say that no bidder will be allowed to take a test drive but they can inspect the vehicles at a place which is yet to be decided.

The 48-year-old Modi, who fled to the UK, was denied bail a second time by the Westminster Magistrates Court on Friday on the ground that he might flee the country and destroy evidence in the case.

He was first denied bail by District Judge Marie Mallon at his first hearing soon after his arrest by Scotland Yard officers from a central London bank branch as he tried to open a new bank account and has been in custody at HMP Wandsworth prison in south-west London since then.

Modi will appear via video link from jail at the next hearing which is scheduled for 26 April.

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