PNB Scam: Court Rejects Sandeep Mistry’s Bail Plea, Cites Risk of Evidence Tampering

A special court here on Thursday denied bail to Sandeep Mistry, an associate of fugitive businessman Nirav Modi in the Punjab National Bank (PNB) scam, citing his alleged history of destroying evidence and the risk of tampering with prosecution witnesses.

Special CBI court judge Subhash Karhale noted that Mistry had remained absconding for nearly seven years and was detained in Dubai through a non-bailable warrant and extradition proceedings before being brought to India and arrested at Mumbai airport. The court observed that Mistry's return to India was under compelling circumstances and expressed concern that his release could make it difficult to ensure his presence during the trial.

Mistry had served as a director of Fancy Creations Ltd, a Hong Kong-based company associated with Nirav Modi. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) alleged that he managed and coordinated the operations of Modi's dummy companies in Dubai and Hong Kong.

According to the agency, Mistry supervised their daily functioning through clandestine communication systems, including "panemail" and "crickinfo", designed to automatically delete messages and conceal evidence.

The CBI further alleged that Mistry was actively involved in the criminal conspiracy that led to the fraud against PNB. It also claimed that he, along with Modi's brother Nehal and another wanted accused, threatened employees acting as dummy directors of associated firms and forced them to relocate to Cairo after the case was registered in India.

Seeking bail, Mistry's lawyer cited parity with co-accused who had received relief and argued that the main chargesheet was filed in 2019. The defence also said his inability to return earlier stemmed from the revocation of his passport.

Rejecting the plea, the court highlighted the alleged fraud of more than Rs 23,780 crore, saying the financial implications and seriousness of the offences justified denying bail. Nirav Modi, his uncle Mehul Choksi and others have faced investigations by the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate since 2018 over alleged money laundering and fraud involving fraudulent Letters of Undertaking issued through PNB's Brady House branch in Mumbai.