ED to brand Mehul Choksi a "fugitive economic offender"

By

Isabelle Crossley

Published
Jul 4, 2018

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is set to ask a special court in Mumbai to brand jewellery tycoon Mehul Choksi a "fugitive economic offender" and confiscate over Rs 6,000 crore ($900 million) in assets as part of the Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud case.

On July 3, the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court took cognizance of the charge sheet filed against Choksi and 13 others by the ED on June 28. The ED, according to sources who spoke with IST, is requesting that Choksi be labelled a "fugitive economic offender" so that his assets can be seized as part of the ongoing PNB fraud case.

Choksi, who owns Gitanjali Gems among other businesses, will be one of the first major businessmen charged under the Fugitive Economic Offenders Ordinance, if the ED’s request is successful. Choksi has so far refused to work with authorities as part of the case and has cited a fear for his life due to a recent “trend of mob lynching”.

Choksi has been accused of obtaining fraudulently obtained letters of undertaking (LoUs) worth Rs 3,011 crore and foreign letters of credit worth Rs 3,086 crore for his three businesses: Gitanjali Gems Limited, Gili India, and Nakshatra Brand Limited. In the ED’s charge sheet, the total proceeds from a crime that Choksi is accused of obtaining stands at Rs 6,097.63 crore.