Nirav Modi
Indian jeweller Nirav Modi poses during the launch of his store in Mumbai, India, March 2015. Reuters

KEY POINTS

  • Modi has made pieces for Kate Winslet and Naomi Watts.
  • The alleged scam cost Punjab National Bank nearly £1.3bn.

Assets including more than a dozen luxury cars have been seized during a global manhunt for a diamond jeweller wanted over an alleged scam that cost an Indian bank more than £1.3bn.

Nirav Modi's companies along with others linked to his uncle Mehul Choksi, are alleged to have targeted the Punjab National Bank (PNB).

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The bank says the firms illegally obtained letters of undertaking from it which were used to secure loans from other branches of mostly Indian banks.

PNB have filed a criminal complaint claiming the "wrongful loss" of an estimated $40m (£28.6m), which increased to £1.3bn, allegedly due to fraudulent transactions carried out since 2011.

Already a dozen people have been arrested including six high-level employees from the PNB and six more from Modi and Choksi's companies.

Modi's lawyer and Choksi's firm, Gitanjali Gems, have denied involvement but it has been described as India's biggest banking scam and sparked protests in India. His lawyer says he is simply abroad on business and has not fled.

Modi is said to be worth around £1.3bn and has provided jewellery pieces for stars like Kate Winslet and Naomi Watts. He was last pictured in public at the World Economic Forum in Davos.

As India's Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) launched the manhunt for him, other assets of Modi's have been frozen, including a Rolls Royce Ghost and a Porsche Panamera and £625,000 worth of jewellery, gold, diamonds, precious metals and stones, Sky News reported.

India