CBI arrests Nirav Modi aide Sandeep Mistry in PNB fraud case after deportation from UAE

Mistry, according to officials, was wanted by the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for his involvement in the fraud

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The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) arrested Sandeep Bharat Mistry, a close aide of fugitive diamantaire Nirav Modi, upon his deportation from the UAE in the $2 billion Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud probe, officials said on Tuesday.

Mistry, according to officials, was wanted by the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for his involvement in the fraud, which involved fictitious international trade transactions.

Elaborating on his role in PNB fraud, an officer said, “Mistry acted as a key link between various entities, overseeing their day-to-day operations and issuing the instructions through clandestine, self-deleting communication platforms to conceal evidence”.

Also Read:CBI adds 4 more accused in PNB fraud case against Mehul Choksi

“He also facilitated the preparation of forged import-export documents to portray fictitious trade in diamonds, gold and pearl jewellery. Further, he, along with other accused persons, coerced dummy directors of foreign companies by threatening them with arrest, relocating them to other places, seizing their electronic devices and compelling them to sign documents falsely portraying them as genuine owners of the companies,” said the officer.

Another officer said that “Mistry also participated in siphoning off funds from the bank accounts of dummy companies in the UAE.”

Both, the CBI and ED, have charge sheeted him in the fraud and an Interpol red notice was issued against him in July this year.

The second CBI officer said that Mistry was “geolocated and arrested by the UAE authorities”, after which the deportation process was initiated.

“After issuing Interpol notice, Mistry has been traced and brought back to India within a short span of two months, which reflects swift and effective international coordination among the concerned agencies,” the second officer said.

He arrived at Mumbai airport at 11.55pm on Monday and was taken into custody by the officers of Bank Securities and Fraud Branch (BSFB) of the CBI. He was produced before a court in Mumbai and has been sent to judicial custody, officials said, adding that they will take his police custody soon.

The CBI, as part of its action against fugitives, has brought back over 175 criminals from foreign countries in the last few years.

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  Neeraj Chauhan is a senior journalist with Hindustan Times and an investigative reporter specialising in national security, terrorism, organised crime, narcotics, corruption, financial crime and complex investigations. With over 21 years of experience across Hindustan Times, The Times of India, The Indian Express and The Pioneer, he has built deep expertise in India’s internal security and law-enforcement landscape. Neeraj has extensively covered India’s principal investigative, intelligence and security agencies, including the NIA, CBI, ED, IB, R&AW, MHA and other central security forces. His work has included deeply reported investigations into terrorism, terror financing, cross-border crime, narcotics trafficking, cybercrime, financial fraud and political and corporate corruption. He has reported on some of the most significant terror attacks and security developments in India over the past two decades, including the Delhi serial blasts, the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, the 2019 Pulwama terror attack and the recent Pahalgam attack. His reporting has also chronicled the rise and decline of the Indian Mujahideen, the activities and subsequent crackdown on the Popular Front of India (PFI), Islamist extremist networks, the conflict in Jammu and Kashmir, insurgencies in the Northeast and Maoist violence. Some of Neeraj’s major breaking stories are in Aryan Khan drug case, Sushant Singh Rajput suicide, interception of a 3,000-kg Afghan heroin consignment worth about ₹21,000 crore at Mundra port, Sri Lanka easter bombings, Aarushi-Hemraj murders in Noida, 2G scam, coal block allocation scam, AgustWestland VVIP chopper deal and major bank frauds and extradition cases involving Mehul Choksi, Nirav Modi and Vijay Mallya. His reporting is marked by an ability to cultivate sources, analyse confidential and complex documents, and follow investigations over several years—from the initial breakthrough to chargesheets, trials and international legal proceedings. He specialises in making complicated security and investigative developments accessible while examining their wider implications for governance and public policy. A Chevening South Asia Journalism Programme Fellow at the University of Westminster, Neeraj also spent time at the Financial Times as part of the fellowship. He was also a Robert Bosch Media Ambassadors India-Germany Fellow, studying at the University of Tübingen and working with Der Tagesspiegel in Berlin. He has previously taught investigative journalism and crime reporting as a guest faculty member at the Times School of Journalism. Over more than two decades, Neeraj has established himself as an authoritative voice on India’s national security and investigative landscape, with his reporting closely followed by officials, investigators, lawyers, policymakers and readers seeking insight into some of the country’s most complex and consequential developments.Read More

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