Fresh FIRs against Mehul Choksi, others in bank loan fraud case

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Friday registered two fresh FIRs against fugitive businessman Mehul Choksi, Gitanjali Gems and Nakshatra Brands for allegedly defrauding a consortium of banks to the tune of Rs 6,300 crore.

The FIRs have been lodged by the Mumbai branch.

A CBI official said that in the first matter, on March 21, 2022, they received a complaint from Vijay Kumar Wadhwa, Deputy General Manager, Punjab National Bank, Zonal Office, Mumbai against Nakshtra Brands Ltd (NBL), Mehul Chinubbhai Choksi, Managing Director of Gitanjali Gems Ltd and Guarantor for NBL, Dhanesh Vrajlal Sheth, Director of NBL and others for causing wrongful loss of Rs 807.72 crore to consortium of nine member banks led by PNB.

"NBL and other during the period from April 1, 2010 to January 31, 2018 were hatched criminal conspiracy to cheat consortium banks led by PNB, in the matter of sanctioned credit facilities. NBL is a subsidiary of Gitanjali Gems Ltd and that NBL is dominantly controlled and managed by Choksi. The accused siphoned off funds and were involved in the diversion of sanctioned credit limits. NBL was later declared as NPA and reported it as fraud to RBI," read the CBI FIR accessed by IANS.

The second complaint against Choksi and others was also received in March 2022 in which they were accused of committing bank loan fraud of Rs 5,564.54 crore to consortium of 28 member banks led by ICICI Bank Ltd.

Gitanjali Gems Ltd. and other accused, during the period from 2010 to 2018 were party to criminal conspiracy to cheat consortium of 28 member banks led by ICICI Bank Ltd in the matter of sanctioned credit facilities.

The CBI official said that they lodged a case under various sections of the IPC against Gitanjali Gems Ltd, Choksi, Dhanesh Vrajlal Sheth, Kapil Mali Ram Khandelwal, Chandrakant Kanu Karkare, and others.

Choksi is currently in Antigua.