The Enforcement Directorate on Thursday filed a chargesheet against Gitanjali Gems promoter Mehul Choksi, eight individuals and five companies in the multi-crore Punjab National Bank scam, reported India Today. Choksi and his nephew Nirav Modi are accused of defrauding the bank of more than Rs 13,000 crore.
The chargesheet has been filed under Section 4 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act before a PMLA special court in Mumbai. Of the five firms named in the chargesheet, three – Gitanjali Gems Ltd, Gili India and Nakshatra Brands Ltd – belong to Choksi.
Punjab National Bank had issued fraudulent letters of undertaking of Rs 3,011.39 crore and foreign letters of credit of Rs 3,086.24 crore to these companies, according to CNBC. Choksi allegedly diverted the funds obtained through fraudulent Letters of Undertaking to subsidiaries in the United States, the United Kingdom, United Arab Emirates, Thailand, China, Japan, Italy and Belgium. A letter of undertaking is a letter of credit, where one bank tells another that it will meet a customer’s liability.
On Wednesday, Choksi moved a special court in Mumbai, seeking cancellation of a non-bailable warrant issued against him. Lawyer Sanjay Abbot, who moved the application before special Central Bureau of Investigation court judge JC Jagdale, claimed that Choksi cannot travel to India to attend court proceedings because of a medical condition.
The CBI approached the Interpol on June 11, seeking a Red Corner Notice against Nirav Modi and Choksi for allegedly cheating the Punjab National Bank of more than Rs 13,000 crore.
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