The Enforcement Directorate on Thursday attached properties worth Rs 24.8 crores of diamond merchant Mehul Choksi, an accused in the Punjab National Bank scam case. This includes three commercial properties in Dubai, valuables, one Mercedes Benz car and a fixed deposit account, the agency said.
The properties have been attached under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002, in connection with the Punjab National Bank fraud case.
Of the total proceeds of crime worth Rs 6,097.73 crore, the Enforcement Directorate
has attached and seized properties worth Rs 2,534.7 crore, including this attachment, PTI reported quoting the agency.
On July 2, the Centre had moved the Supreme Court against a Bombay High Court order asking Choksi to submit his medical reports to a hospital in Mumbai for cross-examination, to determine if he is in a position to travel. He is fighting a case in an anti-corruption court in Mumbai to stop the Enforcement Directorate from declaring him a fugitive.
Choksi and his nephew Nirav Modi are accused of defrauding the Punjab National Bank of Rs 13,000 crore. In January, Choksi surrendered his Indian citizenship and passport to authorities in Antigua and Barbuda. This came five months after he claimed to have “lawfully applied” to become a citizen of Antigua and Barbuda to expand his business interests in the Caribbean. Choksi had told the Bombay High Court that he left India for a medical check-up and not because of the scam.
Modi is currently in prison in the United Kingdom, where he is facing extradition proceedings.
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