NEW DELHI, Feb. 20 (Xinhua) -- India's billionaire jewelry trader Nirav Modi, who is accused of defrauding a state-run bank to the tune of 1.77 billion U.S. dollars, has written a letter to the concerned bank saying the exposure of the scam has hit his business and his ability to repay his dues, reported the Press Trust of India (PTI).
The scam was dubbed as the largest in the history of the country's banking industry.
Claiming to have "seen" the letter dated Feb 15/16, the Indian news agency reported that Modi wrote that the Punjab National Bank (PNB) exaggerated his liability, and this has led to seizure of his businesses.
He also said his companies owed to the bank only half of what was being claimed by the bank, i.e. at below 800 million U.S. dollars only.
"The erroneously cited liability resulted in a media frenzy which led to immediate search and seizure of operations, and which in turn resulted in 'Firestar International' and 'Firestar Diamond International' effectively ceasing to be going-concerns," he reportedly wrote in the letter.
"This thereby jeopardised our ability to discharge the dues of the group to the banks. In the anxiety to recover your dues immediately, despite my offer, your actions have destroyed my brand and the business and have now restricted your ability to recover all the dues, leaving a trail of unpaid debts."
Nirav, along with his uncle Mehul Choksi, an alleged co-accused, reportedly fled the country and has been hiding in the United States since early January, before the financial scam broke out in the media.