`12K-cr Choksi’s assets seized
■ ED moves for NBW against Choksi, permission to search Nirav’s residence
Mumbai/New Delhi, March 1: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday said it has attached 41 properties, valued at over `1,200 crore, in connection with its money laundering probe in the PNB scam against Gitanjali Gems and its promoter Mehul Choksi.
It also examined Punjab National Bank’s managing director and CEO Sunil Mehta at its zonal office in Mumbai on Thursday.
The ED had early this week examined stateowned bank’’s executive director K.V. Brahmaji Rao to understand how the alleged fraud was detected and other banking procedures.
The central probe agency issued a provisional order for attachment of assets under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.
The attached assets include 15 flats and 17 office premises in Mumbai, a mall in Kolkata, a fouracre farm house in Alibaug and 231-acres of land at locations like Nashik, Nagpur, Panvel and Villupuram in Tamil Nadu.
A 170-acre park in Hyderabad’s Ranga Reddy district valued at over `500 crore has also been attached, it said.
Four flats in Borivali (east) area of the Maharashtra capital and nine others in Kheni Tower in Santacruz (east) have also been attached as part of the action.
“The total value of the 41 assets attached on Thursday, which are controlled by Choksi, is estimated at `1,217.2 crore,” the ED said.
The ED also moved a special court in Mumbai seeking a non-bailable warrant (NBW) against Mehul Choksi.
It also moved another court seeking permission to search the south Mumbai residence of billionaire diamond merchant Nirav Modi, a coaccused in the Punjab National Bank scam.
“We issued three summonses to Choksi, he neither responded to those summonses nor appeared before the agency,” special ED prosecutor Hiten Venegaonkar told the court for the Prevention of Money Laundering Act cases here.
On February 27, the agency had moved the court seeking an NBW against Nirav Modi. Judge M.S. Azmi is likely to pass orders on both the pleas on Saturday.
The ED also petitioned the special CBI court here for permission to conduct searches at Nirav Modi’s residence in Samudra Mahal building in south Mumbai.