1 00:00:06,105 --> 00:00:08,105 [woman 1] He's carved out a global empire, 2 00:00:08,185 --> 00:00:12,705 and today, we have as our guest, jeweler extraordinaire, Nirav Modi. 3 00:00:12,785 --> 00:00:14,745 Nirav, whoever we've interviewed, 4 00:00:14,825 --> 00:00:17,265 we've been very particular - they have to have... 5 00:00:18,585 --> 00:00:20,385 they have to be totally honest, 6 00:00:20,465 --> 00:00:23,945 they have to have good ethics and morality in their business dealings. 7 00:00:24,025 --> 00:00:26,665 -I mean, your reputation precedes you. -Thank you. 8 00:00:26,745 --> 00:00:27,985 So, our, our... 9 00:00:28,065 --> 00:00:30,865 To be a jeweler, it's all about having trust, right? 10 00:00:30,945 --> 00:00:35,825 Because when a person is spending lakhs and crores on jewelry, it's about... 11 00:00:36,225 --> 00:00:38,545 The brand has to embody trust. 12 00:00:38,625 --> 00:00:45,225 [up-tempo string instruments playing] 13 00:00:48,505 --> 00:00:51,225 [woman 2] Luxury had just happened to India. 14 00:00:52,985 --> 00:00:56,825 No longer were we only looking at the Guccis and the Pradas. 15 00:00:57,505 --> 00:01:01,105 Today, we were looking at Indian brands, and Nirav Modi was that brand. 16 00:01:01,185 --> 00:01:03,505 [music continues] 17 00:01:05,945 --> 00:01:08,425 It seemed like this beautiful, aesthetic fantasy. 18 00:01:09,505 --> 00:01:13,665 He really had this vision for, like, a multinational jewelry brand, 19 00:01:13,745 --> 00:01:15,145 something like Tiffany's. 20 00:01:16,145 --> 00:01:18,825 [woman 3] He was bold, he was taking risks. 21 00:01:18,905 --> 00:01:23,065 It felt like he had all the right pieces in this puzzle. 22 00:01:24,625 --> 00:01:27,385 It's very hard to make that much noise 23 00:01:27,465 --> 00:01:30,905 without obscene amounts of money behind you. 24 00:01:33,345 --> 00:01:34,825 He did everything right. 25 00:01:34,905 --> 00:01:39,145 You could never have expected things to ever go wrong. 26 00:01:39,225 --> 00:01:41,825 [music continues] 27 00:01:42,225 --> 00:01:45,145 [woman 2] It was this strange unending fountain of money 28 00:01:45,225 --> 00:01:47,545 that he seemed to have always. 29 00:01:47,945 --> 00:01:49,185 Where was it coming from? 30 00:01:51,785 --> 00:01:55,985 It was very difficult for anyone to know or suspect that something was wrong 31 00:01:56,065 --> 00:01:57,785 until it all actually came tumbling out. 32 00:01:58,905 --> 00:02:02,865 {\an8}This is the biggest corporate fraud that has taken place in India. 33 00:02:03,265 --> 00:02:07,905 {\an8}Big hunt for India's biggest thief, Nirav Modi, is hotting up. 34 00:02:09,145 --> 00:02:11,585 Nirav Modi came out of nowhere, 35 00:02:11,985 --> 00:02:13,665 created this beautiful image, 36 00:02:13,744 --> 00:02:15,514 had a beautiful product, 37 00:02:15,584 --> 00:02:18,154 he controlled his narrative, he controlled his whole story, 38 00:02:18,225 --> 00:02:20,225 and then... he was gone. 39 00:02:20,305 --> 00:02:21,665 [music fades out] 40 00:02:21,745 --> 00:02:24,225 [theme music playing] 41 00:03:04,265 --> 00:03:06,025 [music fades out] 42 00:03:19,825 --> 00:03:22,025 [camera shutters clicking] 43 00:03:22,105 --> 00:03:24,185 [man] The world of fashion and the world of luxury, 44 00:03:24,265 --> 00:03:25,665 it loves a good story, 45 00:03:25,745 --> 00:03:29,185 but it also loves to be bedazzled and to be beguiled. 46 00:03:32,065 --> 00:03:34,625 Nirav Modi first came across my radar 47 00:03:34,705 --> 00:03:38,665 at a time when he was beginning to really make himself known in the West. 48 00:03:39,145 --> 00:03:40,945 He had come out of India very, very quickly, 49 00:03:41,025 --> 00:03:44,505 he opened up jewelry stores in New York, then in London. 50 00:03:44,585 --> 00:03:47,745 He had a big launch when he opened the store in Old Bond Street. 51 00:03:48,985 --> 00:03:52,185 He had hired Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, who was a top fashion model, 52 00:03:52,265 --> 00:03:53,905 as the face of his brand. 53 00:03:53,985 --> 00:03:55,465 The jewelry is just so elegant. 54 00:03:55,545 --> 00:03:58,945 It's timeless, but contemporary, and that is certainly what I look for. 55 00:03:59,025 --> 00:04:01,185 {\an8}And I think at that point, it was so bedazzling 56 00:04:01,265 --> 00:04:03,945 {\an8}that very few people seemed to have actually stopped and asked, 57 00:04:04,025 --> 00:04:06,585 {\an8}"Hold on a second. Who is this guy?" 58 00:04:06,665 --> 00:04:08,745 My grandfather and my father were diamantaires. 59 00:04:08,825 --> 00:04:10,465 I'm a third generation diamantaire. 60 00:04:10,545 --> 00:04:13,305 He arrived with this very well-crafted story. 61 00:04:13,385 --> 00:04:15,305 My mother was an interior designer 62 00:04:15,385 --> 00:04:19,265 and I've been surrounded by diamonds and art from a very young age. 63 00:04:19,345 --> 00:04:22,705 And that story had obviously been well polished by various PR people. 64 00:04:22,785 --> 00:04:24,265 We wanted to create... 65 00:04:25,345 --> 00:04:26,905 India's first luxury brand. 66 00:04:26,985 --> 00:04:30,465 And the more one looked at this, the more interesting it became really, 67 00:04:30,545 --> 00:04:33,585 because, how had he managed to establish himself quite so quickly 68 00:04:33,665 --> 00:04:35,505 and quite so conspicuously, 69 00:04:35,585 --> 00:04:38,385 as a figure in the world diamond scene? 70 00:04:44,385 --> 00:04:47,665 [bell clanging] 71 00:04:48,065 --> 00:04:50,345 [train horn blowing] 72 00:04:58,225 --> 00:04:59,865 [man 1] Nirav Modi came from 73 00:04:59,945 --> 00:05:04,385 a very traditional Gujarati family of jewelers. 74 00:05:05,185 --> 00:05:08,025 His father was a jeweler and his uncle was a jeweler. 75 00:05:08,945 --> 00:05:12,825 {\an8}It's a very tight-knit community, very closed off to the outside world. 76 00:05:12,905 --> 00:05:15,745 {\an8}It operates on honor and trust. 77 00:05:17,305 --> 00:05:19,265 And their main industry 78 00:05:19,345 --> 00:05:23,185 has been the cutting and polishing and processing of rough diamonds. 79 00:05:28,545 --> 00:05:31,945 [man 2 in Hindi] Throughout the world, Surat is known as the Diamond City. 80 00:05:35,145 --> 00:05:38,185 {\an8}The rough diamonds that are mined... 81 00:05:39,705 --> 00:05:43,345 {\an8}in Africa, Russia, Australia... 82 00:05:45,025 --> 00:05:48,865 {\an8}are polished here in Surat's factories. 83 00:05:48,945 --> 00:05:51,225 {\an8}[machine whirring] 84 00:05:51,305 --> 00:05:55,825 There are approximately one million people associated with the diamond industry here. 85 00:05:57,225 --> 00:06:01,425 Almost 90% of the world's diamonds are polished in Surat 86 00:06:01,505 --> 00:06:03,745 and the polished diamonds are then exported 87 00:06:03,825 --> 00:06:05,705 all over the world from here. 88 00:06:05,785 --> 00:06:09,145 [indistinct chatter] 89 00:06:09,225 --> 00:06:12,625 [Subramanian in English] It is an intensely clannish industry. 90 00:06:12,705 --> 00:06:17,105 Uh, it would work on trust, kinship networks, family networks... 91 00:06:17,185 --> 00:06:19,185 [indistinct chatter] 92 00:06:19,265 --> 00:06:23,225 [Subramanian] ...and that's how Nirav Modi came to enter the diamond industry. 93 00:06:24,945 --> 00:06:26,585 He really apprenticed with his uncle. 94 00:06:26,665 --> 00:06:30,345 That was his big first introduction into the jewelry business as a professional. 95 00:06:30,425 --> 00:06:33,825 These may just look like pieces of glass or even plastic to you, 96 00:06:33,905 --> 00:06:36,225 but they are actually not, are they Mr. Choksi? 97 00:06:36,305 --> 00:06:37,665 No, they are absolutely, 98 00:06:37,745 --> 00:06:40,505 they are a very high quality of diamonds, in fact. 99 00:06:41,465 --> 00:06:44,825 [Modi] I give a lot of credit to... to my uncle. 100 00:06:45,465 --> 00:06:49,865 He's very kind, he's very kind, and he has been a great inspiration. 101 00:06:49,945 --> 00:06:55,305 I worked for him for ten years and I learned everything from him. 102 00:06:55,705 --> 00:07:00,225 We do about $80-- $70, $80 million of rough that we source from... 103 00:07:00,305 --> 00:07:03,025 [Subramanian] The Gujarati jewelry business is largely very discreet, 104 00:07:03,105 --> 00:07:04,185 very quiet - 105 00:07:04,265 --> 00:07:05,945 Mehul Choksi was not like that. 106 00:07:06,025 --> 00:07:08,665 Mehul Choksi wore the finest suits and owned a yacht, 107 00:07:08,745 --> 00:07:13,145 and, uh, listed his business, Gitanjali Gems, on the stock exchange. 108 00:07:13,225 --> 00:07:16,745 [instrumental music playing] 109 00:07:16,825 --> 00:07:19,785 [crowd applauding] 110 00:07:20,585 --> 00:07:26,585 Mehul had a very dodgy reputation and left a lot of, uh, unpaid bills. 111 00:07:29,185 --> 00:07:31,465 There were lots of court cases against him. 112 00:07:32,105 --> 00:07:33,985 {\an8}Then, of course, there were rumors of, 113 00:07:34,065 --> 00:07:37,745 {\an8}you know, him not paying people for the work they did for him... 114 00:07:39,505 --> 00:07:42,305 the models - one of them who I know - 115 00:07:42,385 --> 00:07:45,745 who he didn't pay her fee, but he paid her in diamonds, 116 00:07:45,825 --> 00:07:49,265 and then, she later found out that they were not real. 117 00:07:49,345 --> 00:07:52,345 So, Mehul, um, was hugely unpopular. 118 00:07:52,425 --> 00:07:55,625 [crowd continues applauding] 119 00:07:55,705 --> 00:07:58,585 [in Hindi] In this industry, you get to know what a person is like 120 00:07:59,585 --> 00:08:01,665 from the way they talk and the way they pay. 121 00:08:01,745 --> 00:08:03,825 So, when I realized he wasn't good with payments 122 00:08:03,905 --> 00:08:05,505 and wasn't behaving properly, 123 00:08:05,585 --> 00:08:09,025 I completely stopped doing business with him. 124 00:08:09,105 --> 00:08:11,665 Some continued, I'm not saying no one did business with him, 125 00:08:11,745 --> 00:08:13,785 but, I guess, there are all types. 126 00:08:13,865 --> 00:08:16,105 [crowd cheering] 127 00:08:16,185 --> 00:08:18,825 [in English] Nirav had, sort of, learned the trade from him 128 00:08:18,905 --> 00:08:21,985 and had subsequently built on his sense of what that trade ought to be. 129 00:08:22,065 --> 00:08:24,825 I think Mehul had similar ambitions to Nirav Modi 130 00:08:24,905 --> 00:08:28,745 and so, they were bound by that kind of vision for their companies 131 00:08:28,825 --> 00:08:32,265 and maybe also the ways in which that vision could be achieved. 132 00:08:37,784 --> 00:08:40,904 In 1999, Nirav Modi split away from his uncle 133 00:08:40,985 --> 00:08:42,945 and he started Firestar Diamond. 134 00:08:46,065 --> 00:08:48,745 {\an8}Nirav Modi felt he could probably achieve 135 00:08:48,825 --> 00:08:51,305 {\an8}a similar scale of success like his uncle - 136 00:08:52,025 --> 00:08:54,905 {\an8}essentially, diamond cutting and diamond polishing, 137 00:08:54,985 --> 00:08:57,105 {\an8}and making jewelry for other people. 138 00:08:58,585 --> 00:09:02,665 [Shah in Hindi] Nirav Modi's factory employed about 1,800 to 2,000 people. 139 00:09:02,745 --> 00:09:04,025 It was a jewelry factory. 140 00:09:06,385 --> 00:09:10,865 And the way Nirav worked was he would pay people with cash. 141 00:09:11,345 --> 00:09:15,305 He would buy stock with cash and give people advance cash payments. 142 00:09:15,905 --> 00:09:19,585 As a business person starting a new business, 143 00:09:19,665 --> 00:09:23,505 if they are behaving responsibly and they are paying people properly... 144 00:09:24,585 --> 00:09:27,385 this is how Nirav was able to create a unique image for himself. 145 00:09:38,985 --> 00:09:41,385 {\an8}I went to Firestar to be trained... 146 00:09:42,345 --> 00:09:45,105 {\an8}in 2007 in Nirav Modi's factory. 147 00:09:46,065 --> 00:09:48,385 {\an8}That was my first job. 148 00:09:48,465 --> 00:09:51,865 {\an8}The conditions there were unlike anywhere else - 149 00:09:51,945 --> 00:09:56,225 {\an8}there was a creche, subsidized restaurant, a doctor was provided. 150 00:09:58,665 --> 00:10:01,145 Nirav Modi did a lot for the poor. 151 00:10:02,905 --> 00:10:05,025 He talked to everyone, 152 00:10:05,105 --> 00:10:09,505 he had no arrogance about being a big factory owner. 153 00:10:09,585 --> 00:10:11,465 He talked to his employees. 154 00:10:12,505 --> 00:10:15,305 [Ingle] Nirav Modi was like a God to us. 155 00:10:15,385 --> 00:10:18,665 Nirav sir is the "Diamond King". 156 00:10:31,145 --> 00:10:33,985 {\an8}[in English] The polishing of diamonds is essentially labor intensive 157 00:10:34,065 --> 00:10:36,065 {\an8}and it's low end, it's low margin. 158 00:10:36,145 --> 00:10:37,825 {\an8}You need to polish a lot of diamonds 159 00:10:37,905 --> 00:10:39,985 {\an8}to make the kind of profit that you would want. 160 00:10:42,545 --> 00:10:46,985 The setting and the selling and the retail of diamonds and jewelry at a high-end, 161 00:10:47,065 --> 00:10:50,385 that is a high-margin business, that's where the real profits lie. 162 00:10:53,945 --> 00:10:56,345 [Lall] And that is, essentially, what tipped the scales 163 00:10:56,425 --> 00:10:57,905 for Nirav to go after. 164 00:11:00,745 --> 00:11:03,825 Modi realized that, "What I'm doing is no different 165 00:11:03,905 --> 00:11:06,105 to what 20 other jewelers are doing 166 00:11:06,185 --> 00:11:09,265 and the chance for me to create a mark in my industry 167 00:11:09,345 --> 00:11:12,905 is by doing something that no other Indian jeweler had done." 168 00:11:15,305 --> 00:11:17,585 Which is, essentially, building a luxury brand. 169 00:11:18,505 --> 00:11:23,105 -[indistinct chatter] -[camera shutter clicking] 170 00:11:23,585 --> 00:11:25,265 Sometime around 2010, 171 00:11:25,345 --> 00:11:29,305 Nirav started, uh, researching, uh, catalogues - 172 00:11:29,385 --> 00:11:31,105 Sotheby's, Christie's - 173 00:11:31,185 --> 00:11:33,265 in Hong Kong and Asian markets... 174 00:11:35,105 --> 00:11:37,425 getting really deep into what made 175 00:11:37,505 --> 00:11:39,865 the covers of those auction houses' catalogues. 176 00:11:41,585 --> 00:11:43,785 {\an8}He started studying how pieces were sold, 177 00:11:43,865 --> 00:11:48,625 {\an8}he started getting a very strong sense of the kinds of jewelry that people bought 178 00:11:48,705 --> 00:11:50,825 {\an8}and that went for the highest auction prices. 179 00:11:52,065 --> 00:11:53,225 {\an8}-Sold! -[applause] 180 00:11:53,305 --> 00:11:55,105 {\an8}He decides he wants to make a big splash 181 00:11:55,185 --> 00:11:59,585 {\an8}and he designs this beautiful necklace, uh, filled with diamonds 182 00:11:59,665 --> 00:12:02,185 {\an8}from the fabled Golconda mines in South India. 183 00:12:02,585 --> 00:12:03,865 [inaudible] 184 00:12:03,945 --> 00:12:07,345 [interviewer] When you started off, which was the first milestone 185 00:12:07,425 --> 00:12:10,905 that you felt that this was going to take you to the next level? 186 00:12:10,985 --> 00:12:13,265 Was it-- was it in Hong Kong? 187 00:12:13,345 --> 00:12:14,985 -With the Golconda piece? -Yes. 188 00:12:16,465 --> 00:12:21,345 [Lall] Golconda, essentially, represents, the best of the best in terms of diamonds. 189 00:12:22,465 --> 00:12:26,785 Some of the finest, biggest, best diamonds in the world have come from Golconda. 190 00:12:27,345 --> 00:12:29,385 It's the Rolls Royce of diamonds, if you will. 191 00:12:31,505 --> 00:12:34,785 {\an8}One of the greatest coups in his career 192 00:12:34,865 --> 00:12:37,465 {\an8}was setting this Golconda diamond. 193 00:12:37,945 --> 00:12:42,065 The diamond necklace set in what was known as "the lotus design". 194 00:12:43,825 --> 00:12:46,505 [Modi] Christie's heard about this necklace and it was like, 195 00:12:46,585 --> 00:12:50,305 "You know, we hear about this necklace, but we don't know who this person is." 196 00:12:50,385 --> 00:12:53,305 They called up and said, you know, "Can you show us this necklace?" 197 00:12:53,385 --> 00:12:56,585 They just saw the layout, the design, 198 00:12:56,665 --> 00:12:57,665 and... 199 00:12:59,185 --> 00:12:59,985 they loved it. 200 00:13:04,745 --> 00:13:06,185 [Subramanian] The Golconda necklace 201 00:13:06,265 --> 00:13:08,545 featured on the cover of a Christie's auction catalogue. 202 00:13:08,625 --> 00:13:11,905 He was the first ever Indian jeweler to feature on the cover. 203 00:13:11,985 --> 00:13:13,865 It sold for more than $3 million. 204 00:13:13,945 --> 00:13:18,985 And, of course, that catapulted him into even greater recognition. 205 00:13:24,505 --> 00:13:25,585 [interviewer] Who bought it? 206 00:13:25,665 --> 00:13:29,265 It was bought by as Taiwanese, uh, industrialist. 207 00:13:29,345 --> 00:13:31,785 [interviewer] Really? Who would have thought? 208 00:13:31,865 --> 00:13:34,665 [interviewer] A Taiwanese industrialist? For his wife? 209 00:13:34,745 --> 00:13:37,265 -Yes, of course. [laughs] -[interviewer] Well, we hope his wife. 210 00:13:37,345 --> 00:13:39,465 We hope for his wife. You never know today. 211 00:13:43,065 --> 00:13:44,305 [police siren blares] 212 00:13:53,625 --> 00:13:56,945 [tool whirring] 213 00:14:00,225 --> 00:14:02,705 [man] I'm a jeweler, a fine jeweler, um, 214 00:14:02,785 --> 00:14:06,425 manufacturing mostly one-of-a-kind pieces 215 00:14:07,225 --> 00:14:11,105 both for the industry and for a private clientele. 216 00:14:13,465 --> 00:14:16,505 {\an8}I guess, I met Nirav, uh, sometime around... 217 00:14:17,545 --> 00:14:18,745 {\an8}2008. 218 00:14:20,705 --> 00:14:26,785 So, when he decided he wanted to open a factory in India making high jewelry, 219 00:14:27,545 --> 00:14:31,545 he approached me and asked if I'd be interested in getting involved. 220 00:14:36,465 --> 00:14:39,705 One of the things he said to me early on was, 221 00:14:40,185 --> 00:14:43,745 "We buy German cars, we buy French handbags, 222 00:14:43,825 --> 00:14:46,225 we buy Italian clothes... 223 00:14:47,585 --> 00:14:49,225 why can't there be... 224 00:14:50,065 --> 00:14:52,425 a world-class Indian jeweler?" 225 00:14:54,985 --> 00:14:59,305 I decided that I'd take a shot at working with him... 226 00:14:59,745 --> 00:15:00,665 um... 227 00:15:01,865 --> 00:15:04,465 and... that's how it all started. 228 00:15:10,665 --> 00:15:15,185 And so, in May 2011, I moved to Mumbai. 229 00:15:17,185 --> 00:15:19,505 I felt like I had landed on another planet. 230 00:15:22,025 --> 00:15:26,065 But I felt really welcome, I felt really supported, 231 00:15:26,145 --> 00:15:29,345 and I felt very confident 232 00:15:29,425 --> 00:15:32,465 that Nirav knew what he was biting off 233 00:15:32,545 --> 00:15:37,065 and was committed to making it a global brand. 234 00:15:39,185 --> 00:15:43,905 He believed in hiring top talent and letting them do what they did best, 235 00:15:44,705 --> 00:15:45,945 and it worked. 236 00:15:53,505 --> 00:15:54,865 {\an8}I was working in fashion 237 00:15:55,345 --> 00:15:58,905 {\an8}and I was shooting a lot of magazine work 238 00:15:58,985 --> 00:16:02,625 {\an8}and I was shooting a lot of, um, jewelry ads. 239 00:16:03,505 --> 00:16:06,345 Both of these came together with Nirav, 240 00:16:06,425 --> 00:16:08,585 the world of fashion and the world of jewelry. 241 00:16:09,545 --> 00:16:14,185 So, when I first got a call from them, from their office, it was very exciting. 242 00:16:14,985 --> 00:16:18,545 He wanted just to create a lot of content, to create a buzz about the brand. 243 00:16:23,985 --> 00:16:27,465 Jewelry in India had always been, sort of, like in this fantasy traditional world 244 00:16:27,545 --> 00:16:31,345 of the Maharajas and there was a certain lineage. 245 00:16:31,985 --> 00:16:34,305 Nirav was, he was different. 246 00:16:36,105 --> 00:16:40,505 He was trying to do new things, uh, with jewelry, 247 00:16:40,585 --> 00:16:41,825 so it was very exciting. 248 00:16:44,185 --> 00:16:47,705 He had a very strong notion of the Nirav Modi woman. 249 00:16:50,105 --> 00:16:51,865 She was modern, she was Indian. 250 00:16:51,945 --> 00:16:56,265 She came from India, but she was at home anywhere in the world. 251 00:16:58,345 --> 00:17:01,105 Like I said, he brought something from his life 252 00:17:01,185 --> 00:17:04,705 and from his legacy and his being Indian and he put it on the world stage - 253 00:17:06,185 --> 00:17:07,745 a certain amount of success, 254 00:17:07,825 --> 00:17:10,265 self-confidence, of pride in the new India. 255 00:17:15,424 --> 00:17:17,704 {\an8}I became familiar with Nirav Modi 256 00:17:17,785 --> 00:17:20,825 {\an8}when the brand started popping up all over the place. 257 00:17:21,944 --> 00:17:25,514 So, there were billboards all around the city. 258 00:17:26,345 --> 00:17:30,505 We were suddenly seeing this completely new brand of jewelry 259 00:17:30,585 --> 00:17:31,825 emerging out of nowhere. 260 00:17:35,145 --> 00:17:38,865 {\an8}He came on the scene so suddenly and he was all over. 261 00:17:38,945 --> 00:17:42,665 {\an8}I mean, he started with a store in Delhi and then he was here in Bombay, 262 00:17:42,745 --> 00:17:44,745 {\an8}then there was another store in Bombay. 263 00:17:45,945 --> 00:17:47,705 {\an8}When I visited his store, 264 00:17:47,785 --> 00:17:52,625 {\an8}I learned so many things just about the technique of setting diamonds, 265 00:17:52,705 --> 00:17:55,585 {\an8}and he spent a lot of time with me showing me around 266 00:17:55,665 --> 00:17:59,985 {\an8}and about, you know, invisible settings and how you couldn't see the clasp. 267 00:18:01,985 --> 00:18:04,625 {\an8}His jewelry was gobsmackingly beautiful. 268 00:18:07,465 --> 00:18:12,385 [Kantra] As I got to spend time with him, I found him to be extremely focused. 269 00:18:12,465 --> 00:18:16,465 He has a very good design sense about him. 270 00:18:17,385 --> 00:18:19,265 He was always very interested 271 00:18:19,345 --> 00:18:21,865 in pushing the technical limits... 272 00:18:22,745 --> 00:18:24,465 of the craft. 273 00:18:24,865 --> 00:18:27,145 He always married aesthetics with technique. 274 00:18:28,785 --> 00:18:30,985 You know? Like, he was really invested in that. 275 00:18:31,065 --> 00:18:33,145 And there was this one bangle... 276 00:18:34,225 --> 00:18:37,225 OK... It was a stretchable bangle. 277 00:18:39,665 --> 00:18:43,505 Each bracelet had over a hundred components in it... 278 00:18:46,785 --> 00:18:51,225 and had seven different types of springs internally 279 00:18:51,305 --> 00:18:52,905 to make them function properly. 280 00:18:54,265 --> 00:18:58,705 When it collapsed, it looked like a bangle that was totally intact and sovereign, 281 00:18:58,785 --> 00:19:00,985 and when you pulled it, the links would open up. 282 00:19:02,545 --> 00:19:04,985 Just, it worked so beautifully. 283 00:19:06,385 --> 00:19:09,025 He was so happy and so proud of that piece. 284 00:19:09,105 --> 00:19:12,505 Think of it in terms of interlocking of hands 285 00:19:12,585 --> 00:19:14,145 between a man and a woman. 286 00:19:15,225 --> 00:19:18,945 It's very playful, it's very comfortable, and it caresses your-- 287 00:19:19,025 --> 00:19:20,665 -[interviewer] It's seamless. -It is. 288 00:19:21,905 --> 00:19:24,265 [Verma] He wanted that bangle to communicate. 289 00:19:25,505 --> 00:19:29,745 We told a little story of, like, little children in one of the films, 290 00:19:29,825 --> 00:19:32,305 who were playful, where they were holding hands, 291 00:19:32,385 --> 00:19:36,225 and as they were going round and round the circle was stretching and collapsing. 292 00:19:36,305 --> 00:19:41,105 We tried to communicate the joy of that little piece of jewelry in so many ways. 293 00:19:42,745 --> 00:19:44,145 The resources were there. 294 00:19:45,105 --> 00:19:47,905 The resources were there to make your visions come alive. 295 00:19:51,145 --> 00:19:53,785 In all my time in working with Nirav, 296 00:19:53,865 --> 00:20:00,145 I never was told to cut a corner or save a dollar if, you know, 297 00:20:00,225 --> 00:20:03,945 spending it or taking your time is going to improve the piece. 298 00:20:09,785 --> 00:20:12,385 {\an8}As Nirav Modi's brand expanded, 299 00:20:12,465 --> 00:20:16,105 {\an8}I don't think anybody really questioned how a privately held company like that 300 00:20:16,185 --> 00:20:17,225 {\an8}was raising its money. 301 00:20:23,665 --> 00:20:27,625 Beginning in 2011, Nirav Modi is just expanding his empire 302 00:20:27,705 --> 00:20:30,785 and he finds that he needs a new way to fund his business. 303 00:20:32,305 --> 00:20:36,625 He started to take a series of loans from Punjab National Bank, 304 00:20:37,265 --> 00:20:39,185 a big state-owned bank in India. 305 00:20:40,945 --> 00:20:41,985 To get these loans, 306 00:20:42,065 --> 00:20:45,905 he used a uniquely Indian financial instrument called a Letter of Undertaking. 307 00:20:46,225 --> 00:20:48,745 {\an8}So, a Letter of Undertaking is basically a document 308 00:20:48,825 --> 00:20:51,065 {\an8}that a bank in your country gives you 309 00:20:51,145 --> 00:20:54,905 {\an8}which you then use to get credit from a bank in a foreign country. 310 00:20:56,105 --> 00:20:58,065 [Subramanian] It's a way to raise foreign exchange 311 00:20:58,145 --> 00:21:01,105 without paying enormous amounts of conversion fees and so on. 312 00:21:02,185 --> 00:21:05,825 And because it's a relatively inexpensive way of sourcing 313 00:21:05,905 --> 00:21:08,305 US dollars or British pounds or whatever it may be, 314 00:21:08,385 --> 00:21:10,905 a lot of other businesses were using that as well. 315 00:21:12,585 --> 00:21:14,625 [Lall] When you get the Letter of Undertaking, 316 00:21:14,705 --> 00:21:16,505 you're supposed to put down collateral, 317 00:21:16,585 --> 00:21:21,065 which can be a percentage of the amount of money that you have borrowed. 318 00:21:23,745 --> 00:21:25,425 What Nirav Modi wasn't doing 319 00:21:25,505 --> 00:21:27,745 was providing the bank with that collateral, 320 00:21:27,825 --> 00:21:29,065 that cash collateral, 321 00:21:29,145 --> 00:21:31,945 and the way he was able to get away without doing that... 322 00:21:33,585 --> 00:21:37,305 was by bribing officials in the Punjab National Bank. 323 00:21:38,545 --> 00:21:40,905 Essentially, he's being given free money. 324 00:21:52,025 --> 00:21:54,185 There was really one physical location 325 00:21:54,265 --> 00:21:57,385 that was a nerve center of this entire enterprise... 326 00:21:58,865 --> 00:22:01,545 and that was the branch of Punjab National Bank 327 00:22:01,625 --> 00:22:04,025 in a building called Brady House in South Bombay. 328 00:22:06,225 --> 00:22:08,465 It's a dingy little office. 329 00:22:10,985 --> 00:22:16,065 It didn't seem like the kind of venue that would host a criminal enterprise. 330 00:22:19,385 --> 00:22:21,145 {\an8}[in Hindi] Basically, I'm a clerk... 331 00:22:22,145 --> 00:22:24,425 {\an8}and this was the first job I had in my life, 332 00:22:24,985 --> 00:22:27,545 {\an8}so it was a special kind of happiness. 333 00:22:30,385 --> 00:22:33,265 A desk clerk is a junior role, a single window operator. 334 00:22:34,145 --> 00:22:35,825 Data entry, only data entry. 335 00:22:37,425 --> 00:22:39,985 There was a huge amount of work to do in Brady House. 336 00:22:41,345 --> 00:22:46,225 There were around 30 to 40 payments to be put through each day, 337 00:22:46,305 --> 00:22:49,145 and on average seven to eight Letters of Undertaking. 338 00:22:52,545 --> 00:22:56,345 Firestar Diamonds was a company name that I knew, 339 00:22:56,425 --> 00:22:58,825 all the documents would come to me. 340 00:23:00,585 --> 00:23:04,945 To me, it didn't look like anything suspicious was going on. 341 00:23:05,585 --> 00:23:09,225 My senior would give me the order to do this work. 342 00:23:10,585 --> 00:23:11,945 How could I not do it? 343 00:23:15,745 --> 00:23:18,665 [in English] The details of this banking fraud was so hidden away 344 00:23:18,745 --> 00:23:21,305 from, uh, not only public consumption, 345 00:23:21,385 --> 00:23:24,425 but even the consumption of people in the bank or in the company. 346 00:23:24,505 --> 00:23:29,065 It was very difficult for anyone to know or suspect that something was wrong. 347 00:23:37,545 --> 00:23:39,705 {\an8}Fashion magazines loved the brand 348 00:23:39,785 --> 00:23:43,465 {\an8}because he was spending a lot of money on advertising 349 00:23:43,545 --> 00:23:46,505 {\an8}and on sponsorships of events and things like that. 350 00:23:46,585 --> 00:23:49,865 {\an8}So... [chuckles] you know, we all loved him for that. 351 00:23:51,425 --> 00:23:53,985 [Jamvwal] His jewelry became a status symbol, 352 00:23:54,065 --> 00:23:55,665 it became something important. 353 00:23:55,745 --> 00:23:58,265 People would actually say, "You know, this is a Nirav Modi." 354 00:23:59,665 --> 00:24:03,785 He seemed to have got the pulse of India's taste at the time 355 00:24:04,905 --> 00:24:07,945 and of charming the charmed circles - 356 00:24:08,665 --> 00:24:11,745 that's what Nirav aspired to belong to. 357 00:24:21,145 --> 00:24:25,345 His wife Ami Modi is the most interesting character for me. 358 00:24:26,705 --> 00:24:29,265 She came from a very well educated, 359 00:24:29,345 --> 00:24:33,585 a very cultured and a well-known diamond family in New York. 360 00:24:34,345 --> 00:24:36,585 You know, if Nirav Modi brought in the money, 361 00:24:36,665 --> 00:24:40,145 his wife Ami brought in the social connections. 362 00:24:40,785 --> 00:24:43,345 [Jamvwal] She was the right wife to have, 363 00:24:43,425 --> 00:24:45,865 who knew the right people socially. 364 00:24:45,945 --> 00:24:48,865 When he opened his stores, she would play host. 365 00:24:50,345 --> 00:24:54,105 [Verma] He was very camera shy and he was very attention shy. 366 00:24:54,585 --> 00:24:56,385 He was there as the face of the brand, 367 00:24:56,465 --> 00:24:58,545 but the moment you turn the spotlight on him, 368 00:24:59,025 --> 00:25:00,505 he felt uncomfortable. 369 00:25:00,585 --> 00:25:03,265 He... he didn't like talking much, 370 00:25:03,345 --> 00:25:05,545 he was very, very-- He was a man of few words. 371 00:25:06,825 --> 00:25:09,265 Ami did all his networking. 372 00:25:09,345 --> 00:25:11,345 She became friends very quickly 373 00:25:11,425 --> 00:25:16,465 with a very tight circle of rich wives in India, 374 00:25:16,545 --> 00:25:20,625 and if you were selling diamonds, that's the most important thing to do. 375 00:25:26,185 --> 00:25:28,585 They really wanted to rise the ranks, 376 00:25:28,665 --> 00:25:31,225 so they lived in Samudra Mahal. 377 00:25:31,305 --> 00:25:33,265 It was a penthouse at Samudra Mahal. 378 00:25:36,505 --> 00:25:39,265 [Subramanian] People who live in that part of town, in that building, 379 00:25:39,345 --> 00:25:41,265 are people of wealth and stature. 380 00:25:46,105 --> 00:25:48,385 They live lavish lives, 381 00:25:48,465 --> 00:25:52,985 they move in only the most rarefied circles in Bombay and India. 382 00:25:57,025 --> 00:25:59,105 These are all the mantras of arrival. 383 00:26:03,825 --> 00:26:05,905 Around 2014, right around the time 384 00:26:05,985 --> 00:26:10,185 that his business was clearly and visibly starting to expand, 385 00:26:10,265 --> 00:26:12,345 there started to emerge these signals 386 00:26:12,425 --> 00:26:14,865 that all was not quite well with the empire. 387 00:26:19,465 --> 00:26:22,585 [Lall] His stores in India weren't driving very much profit. 388 00:26:22,665 --> 00:26:25,185 Yes, the first few pieces would fly off the shelves 389 00:26:25,265 --> 00:26:26,785 after the champagne parties 390 00:26:26,865 --> 00:26:29,625 and you would see a few footfalls once the store opened, 391 00:26:29,705 --> 00:26:33,145 but in the months that followed, trade was very slow. 392 00:26:39,545 --> 00:26:43,665 It was around that time that you heard rumors in the business 393 00:26:43,745 --> 00:26:45,945 about him borrowing very heavily... 394 00:26:47,065 --> 00:26:49,345 and you always discounted these rumors 395 00:26:49,425 --> 00:26:51,705 because they were at odds with what you were seeing. 396 00:26:55,065 --> 00:26:57,465 When I interviewed him for Fortune magazine, 397 00:26:57,545 --> 00:27:01,185 I said, "The rumor is that you are being funded by the mafia in the Middle East, 398 00:27:01,265 --> 00:27:02,825 there's another rumor that suggests 399 00:27:02,905 --> 00:27:06,025 some of the country's largest industrialists are funding you, 400 00:27:06,105 --> 00:27:09,665 and there's another rumor that says that you've actually borrowed it from the banks 401 00:27:09,745 --> 00:27:11,825 and maybe you're defaulting." 402 00:27:12,385 --> 00:27:14,945 And he said, "That's all, you know, speculation." 403 00:27:15,025 --> 00:27:18,425 There's a lot of envy and there's a lot of jealousy in any industry 404 00:27:18,505 --> 00:27:21,425 when somebody's doing something that is, uh, beyond the usual. 405 00:27:23,305 --> 00:27:25,265 People wondered where the money came from, 406 00:27:25,345 --> 00:27:26,145 but... 407 00:27:27,985 --> 00:27:30,265 you know, very quietly. [laughs] 408 00:27:30,345 --> 00:27:33,225 Um, as long as he was spending and... 409 00:27:34,665 --> 00:27:38,225 you know, the publications were benefiting, 410 00:27:38,305 --> 00:27:40,105 it was fine, right? 411 00:27:40,185 --> 00:27:40,985 Yeah. 412 00:27:49,785 --> 00:27:52,065 {\an8}Nirav Modi's business was diamonds, 413 00:27:52,545 --> 00:27:56,665 {\an8}and diamonds are strange type of consumer item 414 00:27:56,745 --> 00:28:01,625 {\an8}because what they are worth is often quite hard to work out. 415 00:28:06,745 --> 00:28:08,665 One of the things that he did 416 00:28:08,745 --> 00:28:12,345 was he would take diamonds and inflate their values 417 00:28:12,425 --> 00:28:16,545 by selling them through financing vehicles called shell companies. 418 00:28:18,265 --> 00:28:20,705 A shell company is a dummy company overseas 419 00:28:20,785 --> 00:28:22,665 with a dummy set of directors 420 00:28:22,745 --> 00:28:24,705 that has some kind of notional connection 421 00:28:24,785 --> 00:28:27,065 to your own company in your own jurisdiction. 422 00:28:29,385 --> 00:28:31,465 [Crabtree] Nirav Modi set up shell companies, 423 00:28:31,545 --> 00:28:34,665 in the names of his children or his close family members 424 00:28:34,745 --> 00:28:36,105 around the world. 425 00:28:37,305 --> 00:28:40,425 And he used those shell companies to take diamonds which were worth 426 00:28:40,505 --> 00:28:43,145 only a certain amount and then gradually inflate their value. 427 00:28:46,025 --> 00:28:49,145 So, a diamond that he had bought for $50 million 428 00:28:49,225 --> 00:28:53,345 would be sold on to another shell company that he might own for $100 million 429 00:28:53,425 --> 00:28:55,945 and then sold on again for even more money. 430 00:28:59,145 --> 00:29:02,185 Every time a gem moved from one shell company to another, 431 00:29:02,265 --> 00:29:06,065 its price would go up, uh, its value would be inflated. 432 00:29:10,385 --> 00:29:14,345 [Crabtree] Ultimately, you do this because you can take the money for yourself. 433 00:29:14,425 --> 00:29:17,145 If you now have a diamond which is actually worth 50 million 434 00:29:17,225 --> 00:29:20,305 but through financial chicanery, you've made it worth 100 million, 435 00:29:20,385 --> 00:29:22,825 you've got 50 million in profit that you can just take out 436 00:29:22,905 --> 00:29:24,665 for your own personal use, 437 00:29:24,745 --> 00:29:27,625 and that was how he built his financial empire, 438 00:29:27,705 --> 00:29:33,665 that was how he lived a life that was one of a luxurious A-list tycoon. 439 00:29:39,065 --> 00:29:42,385 I think one way to explain Nirav Modi's hunger for that kind of money 440 00:29:42,465 --> 00:29:45,505 was this ambition that he had to be a global figure. 441 00:29:53,545 --> 00:29:58,025 {\an8}Nirav came to me and said that he thought we had reached a point 442 00:29:58,105 --> 00:30:02,505 {\an8}where it was possible for us to expand internationally... 443 00:30:03,385 --> 00:30:08,025 {\an8}and I said, "Yeah, we could go for a launch in a big way." 444 00:30:14,705 --> 00:30:16,785 {\an8}What I was told, literally, was that, 445 00:30:16,865 --> 00:30:19,385 {\an8}"There are great plans, there's a vision... 446 00:30:20,505 --> 00:30:23,265 {\an8}for creating something really large. 447 00:30:23,345 --> 00:30:27,025 I can't disclose much, but there's lots planned for this brand." 448 00:30:33,825 --> 00:30:37,545 [Lall] Nirav's launch in New York is done big bang style. 449 00:30:37,625 --> 00:30:41,345 You have Donald Trump Jr. attending, you have Hollywood, Bollywood, 450 00:30:41,425 --> 00:30:42,745 all in attendance. 451 00:30:43,185 --> 00:30:45,025 It got a lot of ink 452 00:30:45,105 --> 00:30:47,745 in the sense that this was something that had never been done. 453 00:30:47,825 --> 00:30:52,145 In fact, in most circles, in both business and jewelry, 454 00:30:52,225 --> 00:30:53,305 people couldn't believe 455 00:30:53,385 --> 00:30:57,585 that Modi was actually going to launch a store in New York, 456 00:30:57,665 --> 00:30:59,105 because it didn't just mean 457 00:30:59,185 --> 00:31:02,745 that you were gonna spend money on rent and salaries, 458 00:31:02,825 --> 00:31:04,385 it also meant you were competing 459 00:31:04,465 --> 00:31:07,545 with the best of the best in your particular industry 460 00:31:07,625 --> 00:31:09,985 in that part of the world and you were going neck to neck 461 00:31:10,065 --> 00:31:13,185 with the Bulgaris and the Cartiers and the Harry Winstons of the world. 462 00:31:15,825 --> 00:31:18,385 I recognize the dream of a man... 463 00:31:20,745 --> 00:31:25,865 who was willing to do just about everything to realize that dream, 464 00:31:25,945 --> 00:31:28,785 to make it international, to make it... 465 00:31:29,705 --> 00:31:31,225 outlive his lifetime. 466 00:31:32,145 --> 00:31:34,145 [inaudible] 467 00:31:34,745 --> 00:31:39,945 [soft music playing] 468 00:31:40,025 --> 00:31:42,625 He was going global and truly global - 469 00:31:43,425 --> 00:31:45,745 actual gold-plated destinations. 470 00:31:50,745 --> 00:31:52,705 He really picked the hot spots 471 00:31:52,785 --> 00:31:56,145 and he wanted to have a big fancy store in those hot spots. 472 00:32:07,545 --> 00:32:11,345 As the company would grow, perception of India would grow, 473 00:32:11,425 --> 00:32:15,025 and I think, for me, the nicest thing was I felt a sense of pride... 474 00:32:16,825 --> 00:32:18,985 you know, of a store being on the streets of Manhattan, 475 00:32:19,065 --> 00:32:21,825 of a store being in Hong Kong, of a store being in London. 476 00:32:23,585 --> 00:32:25,065 I was really proud of it. 477 00:32:28,625 --> 00:32:34,665 [Kantra] I felt really happy because the brand was very well received globally. 478 00:32:35,465 --> 00:32:39,545 It was nice to open Vogue magazine or Vanity Fair 479 00:32:39,625 --> 00:32:43,785 and see pieces that-- that I had made and contributed to, 480 00:32:43,865 --> 00:32:48,145 and, um, see that he was getting red carpet exposure. 481 00:32:55,305 --> 00:32:58,265 It was really gratifying... you know? 482 00:33:09,105 --> 00:33:13,785 [Brown] He was a man that had, you know, had grand designs really in every way. 483 00:33:14,505 --> 00:33:16,345 {\an8}At one point, his financial officer 484 00:33:16,425 --> 00:33:19,425 {\an8}was talking in terms of stores in their hundreds, 485 00:33:19,505 --> 00:33:23,705 {\an8}you know, almost as if this was some sort of master plan for world domination. 486 00:33:25,025 --> 00:33:27,425 {\an8}Let's just start, first of all, with those expansion plans 487 00:33:27,505 --> 00:33:32,305 {\an8}because pretty ambitious expansion plans - a hundred stores by what, 2025 - 488 00:33:32,385 --> 00:33:33,825 {\an8}at a time when you might say 489 00:33:33,905 --> 00:33:36,305 {\an8}the world economy is feeling a little bit uncertain, 490 00:33:36,385 --> 00:33:39,065 {\an8}but you've shrugged off that uncertainty. 491 00:33:39,145 --> 00:33:42,305 {\an8}Uh, women always buy diamonds, they love diamond jewelry, 492 00:33:42,385 --> 00:33:44,265 {\an8}and men buy it for women, 493 00:33:44,345 --> 00:33:46,145 {\an8}so I think it's recession proof. 494 00:33:46,545 --> 00:33:48,705 {\an8}Do you ever sit up at night thinking, you know, 495 00:33:48,785 --> 00:33:51,545 {\an8}"Really, a hundred stores by 2025, is that a big gamble?" 496 00:33:51,625 --> 00:33:53,985 {\an8}We talked about you taking risks, but it is a risk. 497 00:33:54,065 --> 00:33:57,265 {\an8}Absolutely, I mean, there's-- I always will have sleepless nights, 498 00:33:57,345 --> 00:33:59,905 {\an8}but, uh, we will move forward. 499 00:34:01,865 --> 00:34:03,145 {\an8}He was on a path... 500 00:34:03,905 --> 00:34:06,865 {\an8}he was on a path, you can't distract a man like that. 501 00:34:06,945 --> 00:34:09,625 He had a purpose, he had a bigger purpose, 502 00:34:09,705 --> 00:34:12,745 a purpose that was just, I felt, bigger than... 503 00:34:13,985 --> 00:34:16,385 I felt the purpose was bigger than a profit. 504 00:34:23,585 --> 00:34:26,065 [Crabtree] By 2017, Nirav Modi had a fortune, 505 00:34:26,145 --> 00:34:29,255 according to the Forbes list, at nearly $2 billion. 506 00:34:30,425 --> 00:34:37,145 It catapulted him into the serious A-leagues of India's super rich 507 00:34:37,225 --> 00:34:39,705 in a way that no jeweler had ever done before. 508 00:34:45,705 --> 00:34:48,185 [Modi] I believe this is the beginning of the journey. 509 00:34:48,264 --> 00:34:53,034 OK, so, I don't think I'm halfway through or at the end, this is just the beginning. 510 00:34:53,105 --> 00:34:59,185 So, I think with teamwork, with grit, with determination and belief, 511 00:35:00,304 --> 00:35:01,634 belief in the divine. 512 00:35:20,825 --> 00:35:25,025 By 2017, you know, Nirav Modi has already been taking out Letters of Undertaking 513 00:35:25,105 --> 00:35:26,905 for close to six and a half years. 514 00:35:26,985 --> 00:35:29,065 He has been bribing, or so it's claimed, 515 00:35:29,145 --> 00:35:32,385 two officials in the Brady House branch of Punjab National Bank. 516 00:35:38,105 --> 00:35:41,265 In the summer of 2017, one of the officials retires. 517 00:35:43,145 --> 00:35:45,385 In January 2018, six months later, 518 00:35:45,465 --> 00:35:50,025 once again Nirav Modi's representatives turn up at the bank 519 00:35:50,105 --> 00:35:51,945 and they ask for more LOUs. 520 00:35:54,065 --> 00:35:57,465 They are told that they have to provide a certain kind of cash collateral 521 00:35:57,545 --> 00:36:00,225 and they respond, with extreme carelessness, 522 00:36:00,305 --> 00:36:03,585 that they have never had to provide this kind of collateral before. 523 00:36:03,665 --> 00:36:08,185 The bank officials are puzzled and that's when they slowly discover 524 00:36:08,265 --> 00:36:11,345 the number of LOUs that have been issued to Nirav Modi 525 00:36:11,425 --> 00:36:13,345 without any kind of cash collateral. 526 00:36:14,305 --> 00:36:16,545 The banking officials then went 527 00:36:16,625 --> 00:36:19,265 and did some more research in the back room... 528 00:36:20,665 --> 00:36:25,305 and discovered that there was actually a back log of $1.8 billion. 529 00:36:27,265 --> 00:36:30,825 That's, essentially, when the whole house of cards comes falling down. 530 00:36:44,265 --> 00:36:46,225 {\an8}Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. 531 00:36:46,305 --> 00:36:49,745 {\an8}It is by far the biggest fraud in India's banking history. 532 00:36:50,225 --> 00:36:51,985 {\an8}More than 11,000 crores 533 00:36:52,065 --> 00:36:55,345 {\an8}syphoned off one of India's biggest banks, the Punjab National Bank. 534 00:36:56,625 --> 00:37:01,905 Now, India's second largest bank has detected a $1.77 billion fraud 535 00:37:01,985 --> 00:37:04,785 coming from just one single branch. 536 00:37:05,545 --> 00:37:07,745 [Verma] We were preparing for a Nirav Modi shoot... 537 00:37:08,585 --> 00:37:11,425 models had been locked, stylists had been asked to start, 538 00:37:11,505 --> 00:37:15,265 and I got a call from the same person who had introduced me to Nirav 539 00:37:15,345 --> 00:37:18,185 and she just said, "Have you seen the news?" 540 00:37:18,665 --> 00:37:21,225 Something about a bank loan going wrong and... 541 00:37:21,865 --> 00:37:25,545 And she said, "Just wait, hold on, we might not shoot this weekend." 542 00:37:25,625 --> 00:37:29,785 {\an8}Now, raids are taking place at the offices of jeweler Nirav Modi, 543 00:37:29,865 --> 00:37:33,905 {\an8}who's really at the center of this entire scandal. 544 00:37:33,985 --> 00:37:36,265 Somebody called me and said, 545 00:37:36,345 --> 00:37:38,745 "Is that your guy 'Nirav' that I just heard about?" 546 00:37:38,825 --> 00:37:42,185 And... at first, I-- I didn't believe it. 547 00:37:42,265 --> 00:37:45,785 I just thought, "This makes no sense." 548 00:37:46,265 --> 00:37:49,145 {\an8}[reporter] So, a massive fraud in the Punjab National Bank... 549 00:37:49,225 --> 00:37:50,625 {\an8}[Kantra] That's how it happened. 550 00:37:50,705 --> 00:37:53,585 {\an8}Tax authorities walked in and shut the business down one day, 551 00:37:53,665 --> 00:37:56,265 {\an8}and everybody was out of work the next day. 552 00:38:09,305 --> 00:38:12,065 [Parmeshwar in Hindi] I was there the day it shut down. 553 00:38:12,545 --> 00:38:14,505 {\an8}We were sent away after a half-day, 554 00:38:14,585 --> 00:38:16,945 {\an8}but were not told why it was being shut down 555 00:38:17,025 --> 00:38:18,345 {\an8}or why we were going home. 556 00:38:19,665 --> 00:38:23,425 We got to know later, there was some scam with the Punjab National Bank 557 00:38:23,505 --> 00:38:26,185 through the TV. 558 00:38:26,785 --> 00:38:31,065 {\an8}When the factory closed, I didn't leave the house for a month. 559 00:38:31,905 --> 00:38:37,665 To me, it felt like it must be when a person has a heart attack. 560 00:38:37,745 --> 00:38:39,305 That's what it felt like. 561 00:38:40,545 --> 00:38:43,745 Nirav sir leaving meant that our support had gone. 562 00:38:56,185 --> 00:39:00,065 [reporter 1 in English] Nirav Modi, along with his family members, 563 00:39:00,145 --> 00:39:01,585 which included his wife, 564 00:39:01,665 --> 00:39:05,745 left the country much before this FIR was filed-- 565 00:39:05,825 --> 00:39:08,225 {\an8}[Jamvwal] Somebody like me would never have guessed 566 00:39:08,305 --> 00:39:10,625 {\an8}that Nirav Modi would flee the country, 567 00:39:11,425 --> 00:39:13,505 {\an8}that he would become a fugitive. 568 00:39:16,265 --> 00:39:17,785 {\an8}Somebody may have tipped him off. 569 00:39:18,265 --> 00:39:22,105 It was so carefully done a few days before news hit... 570 00:39:23,385 --> 00:39:25,025 every headline in India. 571 00:39:25,105 --> 00:39:26,345 He had flown the coup. 572 00:39:26,745 --> 00:39:33,345 [dramatic music playing] 573 00:39:33,425 --> 00:39:37,065 [reporter 2] Another chapter added to the great Indian bank robbery. 574 00:39:39,145 --> 00:39:41,345 So, the allegation against Nirav Modi 575 00:39:41,425 --> 00:39:43,785 was basically of defrauding Punjab National Bank 576 00:39:43,865 --> 00:39:45,905 to the tune of $1.8 billion. 577 00:39:45,985 --> 00:39:50,065 And it was only possibly with the connivance of officials in the bank. 578 00:39:50,145 --> 00:39:52,305 [indistinct chatter] 579 00:39:52,385 --> 00:39:54,705 [Subramanian] When the details of the fraud first emerged, 580 00:39:54,785 --> 00:39:58,145 there were two bank officials who were named and taken in for questioning. 581 00:39:58,625 --> 00:40:01,505 One is a deputy manager named Gokulnath Shetty. 582 00:40:06,705 --> 00:40:07,945 {\an8}[reporter 3] Gokulnath Shetty, 583 00:40:08,025 --> 00:40:10,865 {\an8}a former deputy manager of the Punjab National Bank, 584 00:40:10,945 --> 00:40:13,705 {\an8}will be in CBI custody until March 3rd. 585 00:40:13,785 --> 00:40:16,945 {\an8}The CBI says the investigation is continuing. 586 00:40:17,825 --> 00:40:20,585 And the other is Manoj Kharat, who is a clerk, 587 00:40:20,665 --> 00:40:23,505 who was simply a paper stamper in the bank. 588 00:40:23,585 --> 00:40:29,025 [overlapping voices] 589 00:40:29,105 --> 00:40:32,305 [Subramanian] It's been claimed that Nirav Modi has been bribing these gentleman 590 00:40:32,385 --> 00:40:33,905 for six and a half years. 591 00:40:33,985 --> 00:40:39,505 [indistinct overlapping voices] 592 00:40:39,585 --> 00:40:41,585 [Kharat in Hindi] When they arrested me... 593 00:40:42,785 --> 00:40:45,105 even then, I didn't understand what was going on. 594 00:40:47,865 --> 00:40:50,745 {\an8}I was in police custody for 14 days. 595 00:40:50,825 --> 00:40:53,585 {\an8}After that, I was in jail for three months. 596 00:40:57,745 --> 00:41:00,345 Being in jail, it was another hell... 597 00:41:02,105 --> 00:41:04,225 it was a terrifying place. 598 00:41:06,065 --> 00:41:07,185 I wasn't made for it. 599 00:41:08,425 --> 00:41:12,105 I am getting goosebumps just thinking about it. 600 00:41:13,425 --> 00:41:16,145 I could never do something like this or even think about it. 601 00:41:17,425 --> 00:41:20,105 I did the work, I'm not denying it, 602 00:41:21,025 --> 00:41:24,185 but you need to look at the environment. 603 00:41:24,745 --> 00:41:28,785 The document would come to Gokulnath Shetty from the customer, 604 00:41:29,625 --> 00:41:31,545 and then he would give it to me. 605 00:41:31,625 --> 00:41:34,825 I did not have the power to authorize anything in my role. 606 00:41:35,745 --> 00:41:38,345 I didn't know what was going on. 607 00:41:39,025 --> 00:41:41,265 I'd just done my work sincerely, 608 00:41:42,265 --> 00:41:43,745 but I was set up. 609 00:41:45,305 --> 00:41:46,465 I was set up. 610 00:41:50,345 --> 00:41:52,145 [in English] I'm sorry. [sobs] 611 00:42:08,305 --> 00:42:10,105 [reporter] The CBI has alerted Interpol 612 00:42:10,185 --> 00:42:12,385 to arrest or inform them if the Modi family, 613 00:42:12,465 --> 00:42:14,665 which has left the country, should be spotted abroad, 614 00:42:15,065 --> 00:42:17,665 and their passports have been suspended for four weeks. 615 00:42:17,745 --> 00:42:19,425 We heard he was in Switzerland, 616 00:42:19,505 --> 00:42:21,345 then we heard he was in Hong Kong. 617 00:42:21,425 --> 00:42:23,825 We knew his wife and kids were in New York. 618 00:42:23,905 --> 00:42:27,025 He has syphoned off billions of rupees from Indian banks, 619 00:42:27,105 --> 00:42:29,985 public sector banks, money belonging to the common citizen. 620 00:42:30,345 --> 00:42:34,065 {\an8}India Today is outside Nirav Modi's house in Antwerp. 621 00:42:34,145 --> 00:42:37,025 India Today has now learned exclusively 622 00:42:37,105 --> 00:42:41,425 that Nirav Modi happens to be in New York City. 623 00:42:43,745 --> 00:42:49,305 [telephone ringing] 624 00:42:51,145 --> 00:42:53,345 {\an8}Nobody was sure exactly where he had gone, 625 00:42:53,425 --> 00:42:56,545 {\an8}but the editor the magazine came to me and said, 626 00:42:56,625 --> 00:42:58,505 {\an8}you know, would I look into this guy. 627 00:42:58,585 --> 00:43:00,705 {\an8}And I thought this was a rather interesting story. 628 00:43:01,825 --> 00:43:04,465 He's a fugitive, he's on the run, 629 00:43:04,945 --> 00:43:07,425 but the questions remained unanswered, at that point, 630 00:43:07,505 --> 00:43:12,025 "Well, where exactly is he? Uh, what is he doing now?" 631 00:43:13,745 --> 00:43:16,665 And this eventually lead us to discover 632 00:43:16,745 --> 00:43:20,225 that India's number one fugitive from justice, 633 00:43:20,305 --> 00:43:22,985 uh, was living in London, carrying on business, 634 00:43:23,065 --> 00:43:26,745 living in a luxury penthouse, uh, right in the center of the West End. 635 00:43:27,425 --> 00:43:29,425 You might almost say hiding in plain sight 636 00:43:29,505 --> 00:43:33,585 without anybody actually having made any really strenuous efforts to find him. 637 00:43:36,225 --> 00:43:38,665 And through various processes, 638 00:43:38,745 --> 00:43:41,985 we were able to there establish that he had opened a business here, 639 00:43:42,065 --> 00:43:45,585 where his business was, and, through that, where he was living. 640 00:43:47,505 --> 00:43:49,705 Once we'd established where we thought he was, 641 00:43:49,785 --> 00:43:52,465 we spent some time looking at both places 642 00:43:52,545 --> 00:43:55,105 and establishing that there was a pattern of movement. 643 00:43:56,825 --> 00:43:59,745 And so, on the assigned day, I stood outside the office, 644 00:43:59,825 --> 00:44:01,545 and as Nirav Modi came out, 645 00:44:01,625 --> 00:44:05,545 we turned and walked up Soho Street towards Oxford Street 646 00:44:05,625 --> 00:44:08,425 and I and a video camera person 647 00:44:08,505 --> 00:44:10,825 were able to then fall into step beside him. 648 00:44:14,945 --> 00:44:16,785 Have you applied for political asylum? 649 00:44:17,825 --> 00:44:19,225 Can you confirm that? 650 00:44:21,505 --> 00:44:24,905 His initial reaction was one of, was one of real shock. 651 00:44:24,985 --> 00:44:26,945 Basically, he looked like a man who had been shot. 652 00:44:27,025 --> 00:44:28,985 I mean, he was quite taken aback by that. 653 00:44:29,065 --> 00:44:30,745 I know this is embarrassing for you, 654 00:44:30,825 --> 00:44:34,505 but it would be very helpful if you could just answer one or two of my questions. 655 00:44:34,585 --> 00:44:35,785 Sorry, no comment. 656 00:44:38,265 --> 00:44:40,825 [Brown] You owe a lot of people a lot of money, Mr. Modi. 657 00:44:40,905 --> 00:44:42,665 -Sorry, no comment. -[Brown] No comment? 658 00:44:42,745 --> 00:44:44,785 [Verma] I saw the leather jacket he was wearing 659 00:44:44,865 --> 00:44:46,305 and the shirt he was wearing. 660 00:44:47,105 --> 00:44:49,225 It looked badass. [chuckles] 661 00:44:49,305 --> 00:44:52,465 In a good way, like, you know, like there's a certain edginess. 662 00:44:52,865 --> 00:44:54,865 [Brown] How long do you intend to stay in England? 663 00:44:57,905 --> 00:45:00,345 Can you tell me how long you intend to stay in England? 664 00:45:00,905 --> 00:45:03,105 [Crabtree] India's super rich like London. 665 00:45:04,305 --> 00:45:06,985 It's easy to get to, everybody speaks English. 666 00:45:07,065 --> 00:45:09,945 [Brown] You can never find a taxi when you want one, that's the problem. 667 00:45:10,025 --> 00:45:11,785 [Crabtree] There are lots of Indian's there. 668 00:45:11,865 --> 00:45:14,425 -Would the bus be of any use to you? -[inaudible] 669 00:45:14,505 --> 00:45:16,225 [Crabtree] It's a home away from home. 670 00:45:17,145 --> 00:45:22,385 {\an8}London is also a center of the world's, um, 671 00:45:22,465 --> 00:45:24,705 {\an8}in a sense, off-shore finance industry, 672 00:45:24,785 --> 00:45:29,185 {\an8}so if you need to have access to good lawyers and good bankers, 673 00:45:29,265 --> 00:45:32,065 {\an8}uh, the kind of people who can protect your empire, 674 00:45:32,145 --> 00:45:35,225 {\an8}then London is a very good place to get all of those, eh, 675 00:45:35,305 --> 00:45:36,665 {\an8}all of those skills. 676 00:45:42,705 --> 00:45:47,905 {\an8}[speaking in Hindi] 677 00:45:47,985 --> 00:45:50,665 {\an8}[in English] Eh, he's too much of a flight risk... 678 00:45:50,745 --> 00:45:53,225 [Brown] Within a day or two of the piece appearing, 679 00:45:53,305 --> 00:45:56,585 an extradition notice had been served on him by the Indian government... 680 00:45:57,425 --> 00:45:59,025 and so he was arrested. 681 00:45:59,585 --> 00:46:01,785 And he's been in custody ever since. 682 00:46:01,865 --> 00:46:04,385 [dramatic music playing] 683 00:46:04,465 --> 00:46:05,745 [music fades out] 684 00:46:24,825 --> 00:46:29,145 [in Hindi] We never felt that Nirav sir could do something like this, 685 00:46:29,785 --> 00:46:32,425 that he'd take the money and run, we never thought that, 686 00:46:32,505 --> 00:46:34,785 because he was giving the poor a living. 687 00:46:35,185 --> 00:46:39,585 He was like a God, if a God helps his followers earn a living. 688 00:46:40,465 --> 00:46:44,465 There is no one else to support me, it's all down to me. 689 00:46:45,585 --> 00:46:49,225 Now, the situation is such that we can't provide for our children. 690 00:46:51,225 --> 00:46:53,545 That's what our situation has become now. 691 00:46:55,265 --> 00:46:59,345 [Parmeshwar] I pray every day that our factory starts again... 692 00:47:01,065 --> 00:47:02,985 and Nirav Sir comes back. 693 00:47:03,065 --> 00:47:05,625 Wherever he is, he should return, 694 00:47:06,465 --> 00:47:11,785 and he should think about whether the workers have to be paid or not. 695 00:47:11,865 --> 00:47:13,945 He should pay the workers. 696 00:47:16,385 --> 00:47:18,065 If he pays everyone, 697 00:47:18,145 --> 00:47:20,585 then there will be more blessings for Firestar to start again. 698 00:47:40,265 --> 00:47:42,505 [Kharat] After this, my life has collapsed. 699 00:47:42,585 --> 00:47:44,865 I am half dead. 700 00:47:46,345 --> 00:47:47,665 [voice breaking] I am from... 701 00:47:48,985 --> 00:47:49,985 a very common... 702 00:47:50,825 --> 00:47:52,145 a very common family. 703 00:47:52,465 --> 00:47:53,465 [breath trembling] 704 00:47:53,545 --> 00:47:55,345 I had no one to ask for help. 705 00:48:12,705 --> 00:48:15,585 [Subramanian in English] There was only one dupe and only one victim, 706 00:48:15,665 --> 00:48:17,865 which was Punjab National Bank again and again. 707 00:48:18,745 --> 00:48:22,545 The negligence on the part of the bank to make these fraudulent loans means 708 00:48:22,625 --> 00:48:25,305 that the state inevitably has to step in to bail them out. 709 00:48:28,265 --> 00:48:30,785 And that's money that could be better spent on education 710 00:48:30,865 --> 00:48:33,305 or roads or infrastructure or water. 711 00:48:35,265 --> 00:48:38,185 It's a huge hit, it's a hit because the taxpayer 712 00:48:38,265 --> 00:48:42,985 has to bear the burden of corruption within all these state-run banks. 713 00:48:44,785 --> 00:48:46,825 [Crabtree] There's a very clear double standard 714 00:48:46,905 --> 00:48:49,665 in the way that we view corruption in the world. 715 00:48:49,745 --> 00:48:53,865 People look at countries like India and say, "these countries are corrupt," 716 00:48:53,945 --> 00:48:57,305 but, actually, much of the very worst corruption would not be possible 717 00:48:57,385 --> 00:49:00,745 without seemingly respectable international finance. 718 00:49:00,825 --> 00:49:03,185 [dramatic music playing] 719 00:49:03,265 --> 00:49:06,065 [Crabtree] Somebody like Nirav Modi needed international banks 720 00:49:06,145 --> 00:49:08,465 in order to funnel his money abroad. 721 00:49:08,545 --> 00:49:10,225 He needed international lawyers. 722 00:49:10,305 --> 00:49:14,945 He needed, um, tax havens in order to host his shell companies. 723 00:49:15,025 --> 00:49:18,505 And so, the corruption, the grand corruption you see in countries like India 724 00:49:18,585 --> 00:49:23,465 works hand in glove with a different and much more anonymous form of corruption, 725 00:49:23,545 --> 00:49:25,185 which is entirely created 726 00:49:25,265 --> 00:49:27,865 in rich countries like Britain or Switzerland and America. 727 00:49:30,545 --> 00:49:34,825 [Kantra] I always saw Nirav as this guy who had a vision. 728 00:49:35,865 --> 00:49:38,385 His behavior with me was always correct. 729 00:49:40,265 --> 00:49:46,505 I-- I had never experienced a moment... where I questioned his integrity. 730 00:49:50,145 --> 00:49:52,425 [Zakaria] Nirav Modi is a four-letter word. 731 00:49:52,825 --> 00:49:54,185 He's the guy who got away 732 00:49:54,265 --> 00:49:57,545 and it's the governments honor to get him back. 733 00:49:58,145 --> 00:50:00,585 He's become the symbol of corrupt India. 734 00:50:01,785 --> 00:50:06,465 It's now a matter of national pride to see him in an Indian jail, you know. 735 00:50:07,025 --> 00:50:11,065 [dramatic music continues] 736 00:50:11,145 --> 00:50:13,825 [Verma] I feel like the brand should still be around. 737 00:50:14,545 --> 00:50:15,585 I really do. 738 00:50:15,665 --> 00:50:19,705 I feel like the brand and the jewelry and what it was doing... 739 00:50:20,665 --> 00:50:22,145 was close to my heart. 740 00:50:26,425 --> 00:50:29,105 Yeah, but I feel like he's a fighter. 741 00:50:29,865 --> 00:50:33,145 I think anything that happens to him, he'll seek inspiration in it. 742 00:50:33,225 --> 00:50:37,145 [dramatic music continues] 743 00:50:56,425 --> 00:50:57,785 [music fades out] 744 00:50:58,625 --> 00:51:01,345 [theme music playing]