NEW DELHI: Escapee diamond jeweler Nirav Modi on Saturday asserted that he has done nothing off beam and that the Punjab National Bank 'scam' has been blown out of fraction. Nirav Modi was replying to the Enforcement Directorate's application in the PMLA court to affirm him a fugitive offender under new Fugitive Economic Offenders Act.

"I've done nothing wrong. The PNB scam was a civil transaction, blown out of proportion. I can't come back to country due to security reasons," he stated.

His reply appeared days after the Indian government confirmed that they have been stated by the British authorities that Modi is residing in the UK. Answering to a question on Nirav Modi in the Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for External Affairs VK Singh stated that the National Central Bureau of Manchester informed India that their probe have led to the location of Nirav Modi in the UK.

Worth mention here in August 2018, the government sent two requests, one from the CBI and the other from the Enforcement Directorate, to the authorities of the UK seeking the extradition of Nirav Modi to India. Singh had told Rajya Sabha, adding that the urges are at present under consideration.

It may be noted that Nirav Modi has been absconding since the alleged Punjan National Bank fraud, by far the utmost in the nation in terms of value, came to light in 2018. It is also note worthy that an Interpol arrest warrant was also notified against him even as India is working to get him extradited from the United Kingdom.