The court docket has allowed “monetisation” of all of the properties of Mehul Choksi.
New Delhi:
The Enforcement Directorate Tuesday stated it has begun restituting belongings price greater than Rs 2,500 crore as a part of a cash laundering investigation towards absconding businessman Mehul Choksi in reference to the alleged Rs 13,000 crore PNB mortgage fraud case.
The federal company stated in an announcement that it initiated the ‘restitution of belongings’ to the rightful house owners on this case following an order handed by a particular Prevention of Cash Laundering Act (PMLA) court docket primarily based in Mumbai.
“In pursuance to the order, the method of handing over of belongings has been initiated and properties price greater than Rs 125 crore have been handed over to the Liquidator of Gitanjali Gems Ltd (an organization of Choksi).
“The handed over properties embody six flats in Kheni Tower at Santacruz in east Mumbai and two factories/godowns located at Santacruz Digital Export Processing Zone (SEEPZ) within the capital metropolis of Maharshatra,” it stated.
The ED has hooked up or seized belongings price Rs 2,565.90 crore on this PMLA case towards Choksi and the court docket has allowed “monetisation” of all these properties.
The company stated it took “proactive steps” to provoke the restitution course of and the probe company, together with the affected banks, “agreed to take a standard stand” and moved the court docket.
The court docket, on September 10, ordered that the ED would “facilitate” the banks, liquidators in numerous Gitanjali Group corporations to hold out valuation and public sale of the hooked up or seized properties. It additionally directed that after public sale of the stated properties, the sale proceeds could be deposited within the Punjab Nationwide Financial institution (PNB) and ICICI Financial institution (affected lenders) as fastened deposits.
Choksi has been staying in Antigua since 2018 after leaving India.
Choksi, his nephew, fugitive diamond dealer Nirav Modi and their members of the family and staff, financial institution officers and others have been booked by the ED and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in 2018 for perpetrating the alleged mortgage fraud on the Brady Home department of the PNB in Mumbai.
It was alleged that Choksi, his agency Gitanjali Gems, and others “dedicated the offence of dishonest towards PNB in connivance with sure financial institution officers by fraudulently getting the LoUs (letters of enterprise) issued and obtained the FLCs (overseas letter of credit score) enhanced with out following prescribed process”.
The company has filed three chargesheets towards Choksi until now.
Nirav Modi, declared a fugitive financial offender, is lodged in a London jail after he was held by the authorities there in 2019 on the premise of a authorized request made by the ED and the CBI on this case. He’s contesting extradition to India.
(Apart from the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV employees and is printed from a syndicated feed.)