New Delhi: The CBI has booked diamond merchant Nirav Modi, his brother, wife and a business partner for allegedly cheating the Punjab National Bank (PNB) of over Rs 280.70 crore in 2017, officials said.

The agency had recently carried out searches at 21 locations, including the residence of Modi, his brother
Nishal, wife Ami and Mehul Chinubhai Choksi, all partners of Diamond R US, Solar Exports and Stellar Diamonds and two bank officials Gokulnath Shetty (now retired) and Manoj Kharat, also named in the FIR as accused, the officials said.

The searched locations included the offices and SEZ units of these companies in Mumbai and Surat, they added.

A response to an email sent to www.niravmodi.com, seeking comments on the alleged cheating case, said, "This matter has no affiliation, legal or otherwise with Firestar International Limited which is the flagship enterprise of Mr Nirav Modi."

Modi (46), who had figured in the Forbes' list of richest Indians, has been named in the cheating case on a complaint from the PNB, which alleged that the jewellery firm owner, his brother, wife and Choksi entered into a criminal conspiracy with the officials of the bank and cheated it, causing a
"wrongful loss", they said.