MUMBAI/NEW DELHI: The Enforcement Directorate is about to move a distinct Mumbai court docket in the hunt for the 'fugitive economic perpetrator' tag for Gitanjali Gems proprietor Mehul Choksi and confiscate his property value over Rs 6,000 crore within the $2 billion PNB scam.
The particular Prevention of Money Laundering Act court docket lately took cognisance of a criminal prosecution compliant - chargesheet - filed by means of the agency against Choksi and 13 others on June 28 beneath the anti-money laundering regulation.
Official sources stated the agency will quickly transfer the court docket in the hunt for to label Choksi a fugitive economic perpetrator at the foundation of the chargesheet. The agency's transfer might be at the lines of a plea it made against liquor baron Vijay Mallya in a Rs 9,000-crore bank loan fraud case.
The ED will file an application beneath the recently-promulgated Fugitive Economic Offenders Ordinance, which empowers it to confiscate "all linked assets" of an absconding loan defaulter, the sources stated including that a an identical plea might be made against diamantaire Nirav Modi.
The ED has filed a chargesheet against Nirav Modi too and has acquired a 'crimson nook realize' or international arrest warrant issued by means of the Interpol against him.
The agency had charged Choksi and his 3 corporations - Ms Gitanjali Gems Ltd, Ms Gili India Ltd and Ms Nakshatra Brand Ltd - to have acquired "fraudulently issued letters of undertaking to the tune of Rs 3,011.39 crore and obtaining credit limits of foreign letters of credit enhanced to the tune of Rs 3,086.24 crore."
The general proceeds of crime in this case is Rs 6,097.63 crore, the ED had claimed in its chargesheet.
The agency had stated its investigation has published that the "goods exported from India (by Choksi's firms) were of abysmally low quality but the value was highly inflated."
"The valuation of the export/import goods was used to be decided by Choksi," it stated.
"Books of Gitanjali group were also manipulated by using third party remittance system and fabricated debtors were used to be created in order to enhance the drawing power for continuation or enhancement of credit limits," the ED stated.
During investigation, the ED chargesheet stated, it got here to light "that funds were also diverted from Dubai to several overseas subsidiaries of Gitanjali group in guise of loan repayment, loan, advances among others."
Choksi and his nephew Nirav Modi are being investigated by means of the ED and the CBI in an alleged fraud case on the subject of the Punjab National Bank after it was once detected that they allegedly cheated the bank of greater than Rs 13,400 crore with the purported involvement of a couple of of its employees.
The scam, which reportedly began in 2011, was once detected in January this 12 months, after which PNB officials reported it to the probe agencies.
Two criminal proceedings have been filed by means of the ED in those instances after taking cognisance of CBI FIRs.
The Fugitive Economic Offenders Bill, 2018 was once presented within the Lok Sabha on March 12 and the Union cabinet on April 21 approved the ordinance. President Ram Nath Kovind gave his assent to promulgate it a day later.
"A Fugitive Economic Offender is a person against whom an arrest warrant has been issued in respect of a scheduled offence and who has left India so as to avoid criminal prosecution, or being abroad, refuses to return to India to face criminal prosecution," the government had stated.
Cases of frauds, cheque dishonour or loan default of over Rs 100 crore would come beneath the ambit of this ordinance.
The government has stated the ordinance gives necessary constitutional safeguards in relation to providing listening to to the person through counsel, permitting him time to file a reply, serving realize of summons to him, whether in India or in another country and attraction prior to the high court docket.
The particular Prevention of Money Laundering Act court docket lately took cognisance of a criminal prosecution compliant - chargesheet - filed by means of the agency against Choksi and 13 others on June 28 beneath the anti-money laundering regulation.
Official sources stated the agency will quickly transfer the court docket in the hunt for to label Choksi a fugitive economic perpetrator at the foundation of the chargesheet. The agency's transfer might be at the lines of a plea it made against liquor baron Vijay Mallya in a Rs 9,000-crore bank loan fraud case.
The ED will file an application beneath the recently-promulgated Fugitive Economic Offenders Ordinance, which empowers it to confiscate "all linked assets" of an absconding loan defaulter, the sources stated including that a an identical plea might be made against diamantaire Nirav Modi.
The ED has filed a chargesheet against Nirav Modi too and has acquired a 'crimson nook realize' or international arrest warrant issued by means of the Interpol against him.
The agency had charged Choksi and his 3 corporations - Ms Gitanjali Gems Ltd, Ms Gili India Ltd and Ms Nakshatra Brand Ltd - to have acquired "fraudulently issued letters of undertaking to the tune of Rs 3,011.39 crore and obtaining credit limits of foreign letters of credit enhanced to the tune of Rs 3,086.24 crore."
The general proceeds of crime in this case is Rs 6,097.63 crore, the ED had claimed in its chargesheet.
The agency had stated its investigation has published that the "goods exported from India (by Choksi's firms) were of abysmally low quality but the value was highly inflated."
"The valuation of the export/import goods was used to be decided by Choksi," it stated.
"Books of Gitanjali group were also manipulated by using third party remittance system and fabricated debtors were used to be created in order to enhance the drawing power for continuation or enhancement of credit limits," the ED stated.
During investigation, the ED chargesheet stated, it got here to light "that funds were also diverted from Dubai to several overseas subsidiaries of Gitanjali group in guise of loan repayment, loan, advances among others."
Choksi and his nephew Nirav Modi are being investigated by means of the ED and the CBI in an alleged fraud case on the subject of the Punjab National Bank after it was once detected that they allegedly cheated the bank of greater than Rs 13,400 crore with the purported involvement of a couple of of its employees.
The scam, which reportedly began in 2011, was once detected in January this 12 months, after which PNB officials reported it to the probe agencies.
Two criminal proceedings have been filed by means of the ED in those instances after taking cognisance of CBI FIRs.
The Fugitive Economic Offenders Bill, 2018 was once presented within the Lok Sabha on March 12 and the Union cabinet on April 21 approved the ordinance. President Ram Nath Kovind gave his assent to promulgate it a day later.
"A Fugitive Economic Offender is a person against whom an arrest warrant has been issued in respect of a scheduled offence and who has left India so as to avoid criminal prosecution, or being abroad, refuses to return to India to face criminal prosecution," the government had stated.
Cases of frauds, cheque dishonour or loan default of over Rs 100 crore would come beneath the ambit of this ordinance.
The government has stated the ordinance gives necessary constitutional safeguards in relation to providing listening to to the person through counsel, permitting him time to file a reply, serving realize of summons to him, whether in India or in another country and attraction prior to the high court docket.
ED to seek fugitive tag for Mehul Choksi
![ED to seek fugitive tag for Mehul Choksi]()
Reviewed by Kailash
on
July 04, 2018
Rating:
