Social media users have been circulating a photo of a cheque claiming that Nirav Modi gave Rs 98 crore to Congress. Several people shared a screenshot of a post with the caption, “In the year 2011, a booty of Rs 98 crore was issued by Nirav Modi to the Congress party. You can guess in which account.[sic]” The post also carries a Hindi caption that reads, “I did not consume everything alone, I gave people their shares. Everyone should pay back together: Nirav Modi.”
Alt News has received multiple requests on its mobile application to fact-check the image.
The same was circulating in March. Facebook user Brijesh Jain wrote, “A 98 crore donation or bribe to Congress from Nirav Modi.” Others shared the viral photo with a variety of different captions.
The text below the photo reads, “After his arrest in London, Nirav Modi admits Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra sent him abroad for fear of exposing their lies. BREAKING: Congress charged Rs. 456 crore commission and flew me abroad: Nirav Modi…”
Diamond merchant Nirav Modi is accused of defrauding Punjab National Bank to the tune of Rs 14,000 crore. He has since been declared a fugitive. Till February 2019, he took refuge in the British Embassy. The following month, he was arrested and moved to a London jail. India has made preparations for him extradition. On February 25, the UK court ruled in favour of the Indian authorities to allow for him to be extradited.
Several other Facebook users also shared the picture of the cheque.
The claim made its way to Twitter as well.
For ur kind information have u checked the 98 crore cheque of Nirav Modi in the name of INDIAN NATIONAL CONGRESS hope u know who owns this money ??
— Indira Sharma (@ruchindira) March 10, 2021
Fact-check
Alt News had published a similar fact-check in January 2021 when a fake Axis Bank cheque was being circulated with the claim that Vijay Mallya had given money to the BJP. Our report had found that the same fake cheque was used by BJP leader Kapil Mishra to target the Aam Aadmi Party.
Several pictures of the cheque currently viral have been circulating since 2018.
Below are several clues that hint the cheque is fake –
1. The word ‘Ninety’ is spelt incorrectly as ‘Ninenty’.
2. The name underneath the signature has been scratched out and erased.
3. It does not contain ‘Account Payee’ with two parallel lines on the top left which means that Rs 98 crore is to be withdrawn in cash. It is improbable that such a huge amount is withdrawn in cash. More information on this can be found on the Axis Bank Facebook page.
4. The cheque is dated 25-09-2011 with the account number 914010006904607. Alt News tried to collect more information about when this account was opened. According to PaisaBazaar, the first digit is 9 in new bank accounts, followed by two digits that indicate the year the account was opened. In this case, 14 means that this account was opened in 2014. Former Manager of Axis Bank Vinay Nair explained that the account number of accounts opened after 2010 starts with 9. If this account was opened in 2014, a cheque could not have been possibly issued in 2011.
5. ‘NORTH LAKHIMPUR’ is also visible on the cheque. North Lakhimpur is in Assam, whereas Nirav Modi lived in Mumbai.
The cheque and accompanying claim have been viral for several years now. It was fact-checked by SM Hoaxslayer in 2018 and Fact Crescendo in 2019.
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