J&K Bank mulls legal action against Mehul Choksi

Beleaguered diamond trader Mehul Choksi, who is not in the country, has also been accused of defrauding Jammu and Kashmir Bank of ₹152 crore, which he had availed as loan for Gitanjali Gems, according to a news report.

Jammu and Kashmir Bank’s Fort branch had sanctioned a loan of ₹121 crore to Mehul Choksi for his diamond showroom ‘Gitanjali Gems’ in Mumbai in 2012. Choksi—who is the chairman and managing director of Gitanjali Gems, however, allegedly turned defaulter. “The bank is contemplating legal action against Mehul Choksi like other banks, which have also been defrauded by Choksi and Nirav Modi,” Jammu and Kashmir Bank’s chairman-cum-chief executive officer Parvez Ahmad was quoted as saying by a local daily.

On February 17, as part of its ongoing countrywide searches in properties linked to billionaire jewellery designer Nirav Modi and Choksi, officials of the Enforcement Directorate raided a showroom of Gitanjali jewellers at Udhampur town in Jammu and seized gold jewellery and diamonds worth ₹2.5 crore, said the report.

Earlier, the CBI on Tuesday arrested five senior executives of companies belonging to billionaire Nirav Modi and his uncle Choksi, including Vipul Ambani, president (finance) of Firestar International.

The agency has so far arrested 11 persons including six PNB officials, according to reports.