Ex-Gem Co. Exec Fights Subpoena In Owner's $2B Fraud Row Share us on: By Jack Newsham Law360 (October 24, 2018, 9:00 PM EDT) -- A former executive at U.S. diamond companies owned by Nirav Modi — who's been accused of orchestrating a $2 billion fraud scheme in India — told a Manhattan bankruptcy court Tuesday he shouldn't have to give any further explanation or documents to a bank that accused him of stonewalling, saying it would chip away at his Fifth Amendment rights. Mihir Bhansali, who stepped down from his roles at U.S. corporations tied to Modi shortly after shepherding them into Chapter 11 proceedings earlier this year, has been arguing for months with Punjab National Bank, which was badly burned by Modi's alleged fraud scheme, over what papers and testimony he is required to produce. PNB said Bhansali is pushing the bounds of the Fifth Amendment's "act of production" privilege, but he said on Tuesday the law is on his side. "PNB is effectively asking Mr. Bhansali to provide confirmatory testimony that certain responsive documents exist, are authentic and are in his possession," his lawyers argued. "The Fifth Amendment prevents PNB from compelling Mr. Bhansali to produce documents under those circumstances." However the subpoena dispute is decided, Bhansali already faces a mountain of legal trouble. He is wanted for money laundering by Indian authorities, according to a notice on Interpol's website, and a court-appointed examiner issued a thick report earlier this year that implicated Bhansali and the U.S. debtor companies — Firestar Diamond Inc., Fantasy Inc. and A. Jaffe Inc. — in the alleged multibillion-dollar fraud. Indian authorities say the alleged fraud was orchestrated by Modi, who they say worked with rogue PNB employees to obtain fraudulent guarantees that were later used to obtain loans from abroad. According to multiple media reports, the bank issued a statement putting the total value of the known fraudulent guarantees