Mehul Choksi, the absconding diamond trader in the Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud,is currently in Belgium, taking medical treatment for suspected cancer, his lawyer informed the special court on Tuesday. The submission was made during a hearing on the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) 2018 plea to declare Choksi as a fugitive economic offender (FEO).
Once he is tagged as a FEO, the agency could confiscate his assets located overseas.During the hearing, Choksi’s lawyer informed that his client wants to bring on record his health issues as well as the treatment. It was also argued that he had even filed various applications soon after the ED moved court with its FEO petition in July 2018.
However, the prosecution took objection, pointing out that those pleas were rejected way back in 2018-19. Later, the lawyers were asked to make their arguments on the ED’s main plea. Choksi’s lawyer sought time to bring on record the latest development. The next hearing has been scheduled for February 27.
Along with Choksi, the ED had also sought to declare Choksi’s nephew Nirav Modi as a FEO in 2018. The latter was tagged as a fugitive, however, the outcome in his uncle’s case is pending for more than six years.
Choksi had left India on January 2, 2018, claiming he was heading for better medical treatment. He claimed that he didn’t leave India to avoid criminal prosecution nor is he refusing to return to the country. His lawyers have been contending that he cannot be declared as a fugitive as he is unable to return to India because his passport has been revoked, while he also suffers health issues.
Initially, the Central Bureau of Investigation booked the diamond trader for cheating the PNB by obtaining a letter of undertaking (LoU) fraudulently, after which the ED initiated a money laundering probe against him. Choksi’s three companies – Gitanjali Gems, Gili India Ltd and Nakshatra Brands – allegedly fraudulently obtained LoUs worth Rs3,011.39 crore and got the credit limit of foreign letters of credit enhanced to Rs3,086.24 crore.
The ED has, so far, attached properties worth more than Rs1200 crore linked to Choksi; many of them were mortgaged with the two banks from where he obtained the credit facilities.
