The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has booked fugitive jeweller Mehul Choksi in three fresh cases of bank loan fraud.
Accused of defrauding the Punjab National Bank (PNB) of over Rs 13,000 crore along with his nephew Nirav Modi, Choksi has now been accused of defrauding and diverting loan funds to the tune of over Rs 6,700 crore. The loans were granted by a consortium led by the PNB and ICICI Bank.
According to the three CBI FIRs, the cases have been registered against Choksi, his three companies viz Gitanjali Gems, Gili India and Nakshatra Brands, and its directors.
The FIRs have alleged that the companies inflated sales figures, fraudulently obtained foreign letters of credit (FLCs) and diverted loan funds to related entities.
Choksi fled India in January 2018 and has since taken citizenship of Antigua and Barbuda where an extradition request from India is pending in a competent court.
The complaints have alleged that pursuant to fraud detected in the functioning of the Gitanjali Group run by Choksi, a forensic audit of all his companies which had availed of loans from the consortium was conducted.
The FIR against Gitanjali Gems has claimed that Choksi and the directors of the company entered into a criminal conspiracy and were involved in “fudging of accounts, siphoning of funds, and utilising the sanctioned credit limits not for genuine trade transactions”.
The FIR also states that in the accounts of…
