MUMBAI, July 13 -- A special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court has cancelled the Look Out Circular (LOC) against Maiank Mehta, brother-in-law of fugitive diamantaire Nirav Modi and an accused in the Rs.13,850-crore Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud case, observing that there was no material to suggest he was likely to evade trial. In an order dated July 2, Special Judge (CBI) S.K. Karhale noted that Mehta had cooperated with the investigation and court proceedings, having already been granted pardon after agreeing to make a "full disclosure of the whole circumstances within knowledge relative to the offence and every other person concerned." Mehta, a British citizen of Indian origin who has been residing in Hong Kong for the last 35 years, was granted pardon by a special PMLA court in January 2021 in two Enforcement Directorate (ED) cases linked to the alleged fraud. In September 2021, the court also cancelled all pending non-bailable warrants against him in the ED proceedings. He was subsequently granted pardon by the special CBI court in September 2025 in connection with a supplementary chargesheet. The CBI had issued the LOC against Mehta in July 2021. Seeking its cancellation, Mehta contended that he manages businesses in Hong Kong and China and frequently travels to countries including Thailand, Vietnam, Australia and Canada for business meetings and deliberations.Since he had already become an approver and recorded his statement under the Code of Criminal Procedure, the court held that cancelling the 2021 LOC would not prejudice the CBI. In January 2018, the CBI had registered the case against Nirav Modi, PNB officials and others. According to the agency, Modi and his firms fraudulently obtained 150 Letters of Undertaking from PNB's Brady House branch between February and May 2017. The overall PNB fraud is estimated at Rs.13,850 crore....