PNB scam: CBI arrests Nirav Modi's aide Sandeep Mistry after extradition from UAE

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The CBI alleged that Mistry played an active role in the criminal conspiracy with Nirav Modi and other accused persons, in furtherance of which the Punjab National Bank was cheated to the tune of nearly ₹6,498.20 crore. | Photo Credit: Reuters

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested fugitive businessman Nirav Modi’s associate Sandeep Mistry following his extradition from the UAE in connection with a multi-million-dollar Punjab National Bank (PNB) scam, officials said.

After being extradited on Monday (September 28, 2026), the CBI formally placed Mistry under arrest in Mumbai on Tuesday (September 29). The agency subsequently produced him before a special CBI court, but did not press for his remand.

The court then remanded Mistry to judicial custody till October 6.

The arrest was made in compliance with a non-bailable warrant issued by a special court in November 2025.

Mistry had served as the director of Fancy Creations Ltd., a Hong Kong-based company of Nirav Modi.

The CBI alleged that Mistry played an active role in the criminal conspiracy with Nirav Modi and other accused persons, in furtherance of which the Punjab National Bank was cheated to the tune of nearly ₹6,498.20 crore.

The central agency has also claimed that Mistry, along with Nirav Modi’s brother Nehal and another wanted accused, had threatened the employees — dummy directors of various firms associated with Nirav Modi in Dubai — to leave after the case was lodged in India.

They were allegedly forced to shift to Cairo under the threat that they also could be arrested. The accused had also destroyed their cellphones to erase evidence, the CBI alleged.

Nirav Modi, his uncle Mehul Choksi and others are being probed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on money laundering charges since 2018 and also facing investigation by the CBI. They are accused of perpetrating an over $2 billion (more than ₹13,000 crore) bank fraud in connivance with bank officials and by issuance of fraudulent Letters of Undertaking (LoUs) at the Brady House PNB branch in Mumbai.

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