Nirav Modi’s Rolls Royce, Bentley, & Porsche up for auction AGAIN

Nirav Modi was charged with money laundering in the PNB fraud case by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) some time back. The diamantaire absconded before he could be nabbed but was later brought to justice. The ED then went on to sell his property and other assets including paintings and cars to recover a portion of the money involved in the fraud. Now Nirav Modi has quite a collection of automobiles and it was auctioned off this June by the ED. However, according to a recent report by Hindustan Times, 13 vehicles linked to diamantaire Nirav Modi will again be auctioned on November 7 in Mumbai.

Several cars among these 13 vehicles are being re-auctioned by the ED. This includes a Rolls Royce Ghost and Porsche Panamera. These two cars were sold for Rs. 1.70 crore and Rs. 60 lakh respectively in a re-auction held in June, but the selling process did not materialise due to minor issues. An addition this time will be the Bentley Arnage, whose starting price will be around Rs. 2 crores. The Arnage is a full-size luxury car which was made from 1998 to 2009. It was then replaced by the Bentley Mulsanne which is the current flagship model of the Britsh manufacturer.

Talking about the Auction, its contract has been given to Metal Scrap Trade Corporation Limited (MSTC), a state-owned e-commerce company. Those interested in bidding will have to pay a deposit amount to qualify for the bidding process. According to the report, the starting prices for the vehicles were decided on the basis of their age and usage. For the Bentley Arnage, the starting price is Rs. 2,00,80,000, which is the highest of all the cars owned by Modi that have been auctioned.

Bidders can inspect the vehicles on November 4 and 5 at three locations – Samudra Mahal in Worli, Grosvenor House at Peddar Road and the basement parking of Kohinoor City in Kurla (West). Some vehicles even have VIP registration plates which further enhances their value.  This includes the Bentley Arnage (DAF 0001), the Rolls Royce Ghost (MH-01-AS-8), Porsche Panamera (MH-01-AT-5) and the Mercedes Benz GL 350 (MH-01-BS-8). The Rolls Royce Ghost has been driven 24,439 km and was registered in 2010. The Porsche Panamera, on the other hand, has been driven 30,326 km and was registered in 2010. Also being auctioned is Nirav’s brother Neeshal’s Skoda Elegance, which has a starting price of ₹5.25 lakh. Interpol issued a red corner notice (RCN) against Neeshal in September.

Since the base price of these cars has been increased, they could fetch more money. Luxury cars like Rolls Royce, Bentley and Porsche among others have a high value of depreciation and hence are often sold for much less than what they initially costed. This is the reason why there are so many new luxury used car retail chains opening up around the country as used luxury cars can be bought by people who otherwise would not have thought o buying them.