NEW DELHI, March 1 (Xinhua) -- Facing flak for India's biggest-ever bank fraud of $1.8 billion, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Cabinet Thursday approved the Fugitive Economic Offenders Bill aimed at tightening the noose around scamsters.

A PNB branch (Photo: Reuters)

The bill will now go to Parliament for its approval and then to President Ram Nath Kovind who will sign it into law as mandated under the Indian Constitution.

The bill will not only allow the Indian government to seize the properties of those involved in large-scale fraud, but also deter economic offenders from evading the law by staying in foreign countries, according to the government.

The bill was passed by the Indian Cabinet, just hours after India's Finance Ministry ordered the closure of as many as 35 branches of state-owned banks in foreign countries.

The banks that have been asked to shut down foreign branches include the country's largest lender, State Bank of India (SBI), Punjab National Bank, and Bank of Baroda. SBI has 195 foreign offices spread across 36 countries.

The move came after Punjab National Bank last month reported to authorities about the $1.8 billion fraud, masterminded by billionaire jeweller Nirav Modi, though he claimed to owe the bank only $775 million.

Though Modi has not been formally charged for the crime, India's External Affairs Ministry has revoked the passports of the disgraced jeweller and his uncle and business partner Mehul Choksi, and launched a massive crackdown on companies linked to the duo.

Investigators have also arrested 13 people, including some high-ranking bank officials, for their alleged involvement in the fraud. A top internal auditor of the Punjab National Bank was the latest to be taken into custody Wednesday.

The celebrity jeweller, however, has gone into hiding. He is said to have fled the country and was reportedly last seen in New York after his appearance at the World Economic Forum in Davos as a part of an Indian delegation.