Nirav Modi: Who is India's scandal-linked billionaire?

He was already the second most famous Mr N Modi of India.

But now Nirav Modi - the billionaire diamond trader and jeweller to Hollywood and Bollywood stars - is in the news for very different reasons.

Last month, Punjab National Bank filed a criminal complaint that accused Mr Modi and others of defrauding the bank, costing it 2.8bn rupees ($43.8m).

Then this week, the same bank publicly alleged that the jeweller was among those involved in an alleged $1.8bn fraud - which has led to fears for India's second-largest state-run bank.

This was echoed by India's law and justice minister, who told a press conference that "Nirav Modi and his accomplices attempted to bypass established banking channels by perpetrating this fraud".

While police have begun formal investigations into Mr Modi, no charges have been brought.

The diamond tycoon is yet to comment on the claims, and so far, it is understood detectives have not managed to speak to him.

However high profile police raids on his jewellery stores and other businesses have made this a huge corporate story.

And his supposed links with that other N Modi - India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi - means it is rapidly becoming a political story too.

Who is Nirav Modi?

Best-known to the public as a jeweller, Nirav Modi started trading under his eponymous brand in 2010, specialising in diamonds.

Kate Winslet and Rosie Huntington-Whiteley are among those who have worn his earrings and necklaces on the Hollywood red carpet.

And at home in India, the brand's ambassador is Priyanka Chopra - one of Bollywood's biggest stars. Her face stares out from the firm's advertising billboards across Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore.

The brand made its mark in some style after one of his earliest pieces, described on the company website as a 12.29 carat Golconda diamond, "surrounded by pear shaped diamonds... and subtle accents of 34 Argyle pink diamonds" was featured on the front cover of a Christies catalogue and sold by the auction house in Hong Kong for $3.8m.

Jewellery trading runs in the family.

His uncle is head of the Gitanjali Group, which has about 4,000 shops across India.

But Mr Modi was also born into a diamond trading dynasty, based in the industry capital Antwerp, and later established Firestar Diamond - his own diamond making operation in India almost 20 years ago.

Source: Bbc News