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Mehul Choksi
A special court in Mumbai on Thursday allowed the auction of 13 properties of Gitanjali Gems Limited, a firm of fugitive diamond trader Mehul Choksi, the prime accused in the Punjab National Bank (PNB) loan fraud case. Judge S M Menjoge of the special court hearing cases related to the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), while allowing the official liquidator's plea, held that if the properties are kept idle without maintenance then it will definitely reduce the value. These properties are: seven flats in Kheni Tower in Mumbai's Santacruz, a commercial unit in Bharat Diamond Bourse, four office units at Diamond Park in Gujarat's Surat and a shop there. The liquidator had last week moved a plea, seeking to get a valuation of these properties which are not secured and later sell them by way of auction. The Enforcement Directorate (ED), in its response, had said that it has no objection if the plea was allowed. The court then ruled that after undertaking the valuation process,
Fugitive diamond trader Mehul Choksi, the prime accused in the PNB loan fraud case, is currently in Belgium for medical treatment of suspected cancer, a special court here was told on Tuesday. Advocate Vijay Agarwal, who appeared on behalf of Choksi, told the court that he wants to file an application to bring on record certain health issues of Choksi "who is at present in Belgium for medical treatment". Agarwal informed the court that Choksi is suspected to be suffering from cancer. A special PMLA court in Mumbai is hearing the Enforcement Directorate's plea to declare Choksi a fugitive economic offender (FEO). The FEO declaration allows the government to initiate action to confiscate the offender's properties. Choksi, his nephew and fugitive diamond trader Nirav Modi and their family members, employees, bank officials and others were booked by the Enforcement Directorate and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in 2018 for allegedly perpetrating the alleged loan fraud at th
A special court here on Wednesday rejected absconding diamond merchant Mehul Choksi's application seeking to intervene in an application filed by the ICICI Bank for the release of certain mortgaged properties worth Rs 636 crore. Choksi, an accused in the Rs 13,500 crore Punjab National Bank (PNB) scam, is currently living in Antigua in Barbados. The ICICI Bank has sought release of certain properties mortgaged with it. His intervention application took objection to the release of his flats in south Mumbai and a bungalow in Alibaug, attached by the Enforcement Directorate during its probe, in the bank's favour. But special judge for the Prevention of Money Laundering Act cases S M Menjoge said the bank had not sought these properties. The properties which the ICICI Bank was seeking were not owned by Choksi personally but by different companies, hence, he had no right to intervene, the court said. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Enforcement Directorate are ...
Markets regulator Sebi has ordered the attachment of bank accounts and shares and mutual fund holdings of fugitive businessman Mehul Choksi to recover dues totalling Rs 5.35 crore. The latest decision has been taken after Choksi failed to pay the fine imposed on him in October 2022 by Sebi in a case pertaining to indulging in fraudulent trading in the shares of Gitanjali Gems Ltd. Choksi, who was the chairman and managing director as well as part of the promoter group of Gitanjali Gems, is the maternal uncle of Nirav Modi. Both of whom are facing charges of defrauding state-owned Punjab National Bank (PNB) of more than Rs 14,000 crore. Both Choksi and Modi fled India after the PNB scam came to light in early 2018. While Choksi is said to be in Antigua and Barbuda, Modi is lodged in a British jail and has challenged India's extradition request. In an attachment notice on Wednesday, Sebi said the pending dues of Rs 5.35 crore include the initial fine of Rs 5 crore, interest of Rs 35
Sebi on Thursday sent a notice to fugitive businessman Mehul Choksi asking him to pay Rs 5.35 crore in a case pertaining to fraudulent trading in the shares of Gitanjali Gems Ltd and warned of arrest and attachment of assets as well as bank accounts if he fails to make the payment within 15 days. The demand notice came after Choksi failed to pay a fine imposed on him by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi). Choksi, who was the chairman and managing director as well as part of promoter group of Gitanjali Gems, is the maternal uncle of Nirav Modi. Both of whom are facing charges of defrauding state-owned Punjab National Bank (PNB) of more than Rs 14,000 crore. Both Choksi and Modi fled India after the PNB scam came to light in early 2018. While Choksi is said to be in Antigua and Barbuda, Modi is lodged in a British jail and has challenged India's extradition request. In a fresh notice on Thursday, Sebi directed Choksi to pay Rs 5.35 crore, which includes interest and ..
The Ministry of External Affairs on Friday said it would continue to make all efforts to get economic fugitives, including Mehul Choksi, to face justice in India. The name of Choksi, who is wanted in India in connection with the Rs 13,000 crore bank fraud in the Punjab National Bank, was dropped from the Red Corner Notice list, a move that grants him freedom to freely travel out of Antigua and Barbuda, where he is holed up after fleeing from India in 2018. "On the issue of Mehul Choksi...let me just take the larger point. Our focus is on getting economic fugitives to face justice in India and we will continue to make all efforts in this regard," External Affairs Ministry spokesman Arindam Bagchi told reporters here. In a statement on Tuesday, the CBI said it has taken up with the Commission for Control of Interpol's Files (CCF) the serious shortcomings, procedural violations, overreach of mandate and mistakes committed by CCF in the manner of reaching this unfounded and perfunctory
The CBI has asked an Interpol body to restore the Red Notice against fugitive diamantaire Mehul Choksi terming its earlier decision to drop his name from the list had "serious shortcomings, procedural violations, overreach of mandate and mistakes". The Commission for Control of Interpol's Files (CCF) which had removed Choksi's name from the list of fugitives based on his appeal last year is a separate Interpol body which is "not under the control" of the Interpol Secretariat and is mainly staffed by elected lawyers from different countries where people can challenge decisions to declare them fugitives. Based on repeated appeals from Choksi, who is wanted in the Rs 13,000 crore bank fraud in Punjab National Bank and is holed in Antigua and Barbuda after fleeing from India in 2018, the CCF removed his name from the Red Notice list in November 2022, the CBI said in a statement. Red Notice is the highest level of alert by the 195-member strong International Police cooperation organisati
Three fresh FIRs have been filed by the CBI against absconding diamantaire Mehul Choksi on the basis of a complaint from the Punjab National Bank (PNB), bringing to light an additional loss of Rs 6,746 crore incurred by it and other banks of a consortium, officials said. Four years after Choksi's dramatic escape and the failure of the state-run PNB to detect the scam between 2010 and 2018, the bank submitted three complaints to the CBI on March 21, reporting the additional loss caused by the diamantaire and his firm Gitanjali Gems Limited, Nakshatra Brands Limited and Gili India Limited. The PNB and the other members of the consortium had extended credit facilities to these companies. Choksi's counsel Vijay Aggarwal told PTI that it was a "witch hunt". "When one FIR has been lodged and a chargesheet filed for the total loss to the banks, how can there be a separate FIR now for every small transaction?" he asked. "Going by that logic, if they claim a total loss of Rs 13,000 crore,
The CBI has filed a fresh FIR against fugitive diamantaire Mehul Choksi for allegedly cheating a Canara Bank-led consortium to the tune of Rs 55.27 crore, officials said on Thursday. The agency has also booked Bezel Jewellery and its whole-time directors, including Choksi, Chetna Jhaveri, Dinesh Bhatia and Milind Limaye. The Canara Bank and the Bank of Maharashtra had sanctioned Rs 30 crore and Rs 25 crore respectively as working capital facility under a consortium agreement to Bezel Jewellery. It is alleged that though the loan was granted for the manufacturing and sale of gold and diamond-studded jewellery, the company did not route any of the business transactions through the account to hide diversion of funds. The company did not repay the loan, causing a loss of Rs 55.27 crore to the consortium, the agency has alleged. Choksi is already wanted in a Rs 13,500-crore scam in the Punjab National Bank, along with his nephew Nirav Modi. Choksi has taken the citizenship of Antigua