evidence: The men are thought to have left India before the alleged fraud was discovered. Modi denies the allega- tions and has sought polit- ical asylum in the U.K. In a letter to Punjab Na- tional Bank last year, Modi said he owed the institu- tion about 50 billion rupees ($775 million). The $1.8 bil- lion ﬁgure cited by the bank resulted in a media frenzy that pressured authorities to quickly search and seize assets from two of his com- panies, Firestar Interna- tional and Firestar Diamond International, Modi said. The son of a diamond merchant, Modi built an in- ternational jewellery empire that stretched from India to New York and Hong Kong. Bollywood star Priyanka Chopra became the face of his eponymous brand and Hollywood actress Naomi Watts appeared with Modi at the opening of his ﬁrst U.S. boutique in 2015. As recently as 2017, Forbes magazine estimated Modi’s wealth at $1.8 billion. But his empire began to crumble after the fraud alle- gations, and he was removed from the publication’s bil- lionaires list in 2018. Last year, the interna- tional police organisation Interpol issued a "red no- tice" seeking Modi’s ar- rest worldwide.