A special court here on Friday allowed 'restoration' of properties worth Rs 500 crore belonging to fugitive jeweler Nirav Modi 's firms to Punjab National Bank (PNB).

So far, at the end of carrying out the third such order in a span of about two weeks,? properties?worth Rs?1,000 crore owned by Nirav Modi firms have been restored.

Nirav Modi, who was declared a 'fugitive economic offender' in December, 2019, and his uncle Mehul Choksi are accused of committing a Rs 14,000 crore scam by obtaining credit facilities fraudulently from the PNB, and several of the former's properties as well as that of his kin were attached by the Enforcement Directorate.

Earlier, the court had allowed two pleas seeking the release of properties of Firestar International (FIL) worth Rs 108.3 crore and of Firestar Diamond International Private Ltd (FDIPL) worth Rs 331.6 crore after the PNB, in July this year, filed multiple applications seeking the release of the properties mortgaged with the bank against the credit facilities extended to these two firms.

PNB had filed the applications as an individual claimant and also as lead bank of the PNB consortium and authorized representative of the UBI consortium.
Nirav Modi is currently lodged in a UK jail and is fighting extradition to India.?

(With PTI Inputs)