PNB case: ED attaches Choksi’s properties worth ₹1,200 crore

The Enforcement Directorate on Thursday attached 41 properties of Mehul Choksi of the Gitanjali Group, worth ₹1,217 crore, in connection with an ongoing probe into the ₹12,600 crore Punjab National Bank fraud case.

An ED official told, "At least 41 properties worth ₹1217.20 crore of Choksi and companies controlled by him has been attached."

The attached properties include 15 flats and 17 office premises in Mumbai, Hyderabad Gems SEZ in Andhra Pradesh, Shopping Mall in Kolkata, farm house in Alibaug and 231 acres of land in Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu.

On Wednesday, a Blue Corner notice was issued against Nirav Modi and his uncle Choksi in connection with the PNB fraud case, an official said

A Blue Corner notice is issued to locate, identify or obtain information on a person of interest in a criminal investigation.

It was issued by the Bureau of Immigration against the two. The notice will be valid for a year starting February 22 at all ports of embarkation.

The IT Department had attached four more properties of the Nirav Modi group which included his farm house in Alibaug worth ₹13 crore and a 5.24MW solar power plant over a 135 acres of land in Ahmednagar worth ₹70 crore, as per the books. Both properties were in Maharashtra.

The Income Tax Department have attached 34 more bank accounts and fixed deposits of the Gitanjali Group having a balance of ₹1.45 crore.

Choksi along with Modi have been accused of defrauding the PNB of ₹12,600 crore, with ₹1,300 crore being added to the fraud kitty on Monday night.

Earlier, the amount stated to have been defrauded by Modi and Choksi's companies stood at ₹11,300 crore.

The CBI had filed the first FIR in the scam on February 14 against Nirav Modi, his wife Ami, brother Nishal, uncle Choksi and his firms Diamond R US, Solar Exports and Stellar Diamond. The agency stated that the fraud involved an amount of around ₹6,400 crore. Modi, his family and Choksi left the country in early January.

The CBI filed a second FIR on February 15 for ₹4,886.72-crore fraud against Choksi's Gitanjali Group.