A collection of valuable Asian sculptures is being claimed by the estate of a bankrupt U.S. jewelry company once owned by the Indian billionaire Nirav Modi, who allegedly defrauded an Indian bank of $2 billion, despite his wife’s attempts to gain possession of the sculptures, according to a court filing, Bloomberg News reported. Modi’s wife tried at least twice to claim the 23 statues, which were purchased for well over $100,000 in multiple Christie’s auctions over the past decade. Ami Modi went to the Manhattan offices of Firestar Diamond Inc. last year and demanded the sculptures displayed in an executive office be turned over to her. Mark Samson, the turnaround expert appointed to restructure the company, refused unless she could prove she owned them, according to the court filing. The fight over the sculptures, which included a terracotta bust of Buddha, is a telling footnote in the bankruptcy case of Modi’s Firestar, which filed for bankruptcy in February 2018 after Indian authorities accused Modi and others of the biggest bank fraud in Indian history. Modi, who dressed stars including Kate Winslet and Priyanka Chopra, has denied any wrongdoing.
