Choksi diverted Rs 3,257 crore to foreign dummy companies : ED
New Delhi, Sep 11: Fugitive diamnond jeweller Mehul Choksi, wanted in the Rs 13,500-crore Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud case, diverted over Rs 3,257 crore of the money raised from fraudently obtained letters of undertaking (LOUs) and foreign letters of credit (FLCs) to overseas dummy firms, an informed source said on Tuesday.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) source revealed that Choksi of the Gitanjali Group, who acquired the Antiguan citizenship, also highly inflated the prices of precious metals sold from his business outlets and diverted about $106 million to his nephew Nirav Modi and his father Deepak Modi.
The ED source, requesting for anonymity, told IANS: "Over Rs 3,250 crore was diverted and deposited in the Gitanjali Group firms in the US, United Arab Emirates, Thailand, the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, Japan, Italy and Belgium."
Earlier on Tuesday, Choksi in his first message from his hideout in Antigua denied allegations of wrongdoing and instead accused the ED of "illegally" attaching his properties.
In the video message, the fugitive diamantaire said that his Indian passport was suspended without giving him any opportunity to explain. A Red Corner Notice (RCN) against Choksi is pending with the Interpol.
The ED in its charge sheet against Choksi had alleged that from 2015 onwards a part of the funds was used for repayment of dues of various banks. On scrutiny of the bank account details of the said Indian entities, it was found that huge amounts of debits have been allegedly made from the accounts of these entities maintained with the PNB to the overseas companies of the Gitanjali Group.
"During investigation, it was revealed that transfer of funds was made to the 4Cs Diamonds Distributors, Crown Aim Ltd, Shangyang Gong Si Ltd, Taipingyang Trading Ltd, Abecryst (Thailand) Ltd, and Asian Diamond and Jewellery FZE from the accounts of the Indian entities.
The source revealed that the Gitanjali Group owner also involved Nirav Modi, who is also wanted in the case by the Indian investigation agencies, using several dummy companies to rotate funds.
The source said that Choksi diverted $56.12 million of loan money to his nephew and about $50 million to Nirav Modi's father Deepak Modi.
In its charge sheet, the financial probe agency alleged that Choksi used several dummy companies for rotating his transactions.
"Under this arrangement, the origin of sale transactions and final destination used to be any of the Gitanjali Group of companies. And for in-between transactions, dummy companies were used for layering purpose wherein only sale or purchase bills were created and no movement of goods took place. Choksi has been doing this to project inflated turnover to avail higher banking facility," the charge sheet said.
The ED claimed that Choksi used to fix the value of goods without applying economic rationale. "The goods in question were either of low value or poor quality and were not commensurate with the price or value fixed by him," the ED said.
The charge sheet alleged that these goings on were confirmed by Gitanjali Group's Vice President Vipul Chitalia in his statement to the agency under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.
The agency said that the proceeds of crime of money laundering were partly remitted back to the Gitanjali Group of companies in India in the guise of export-import transactions for settling earlier credit liabilities.
Choksi and Nirav Modi are under probe by both the CBI and ED. The ED had on May 24 and 26 filed the charge sheets against both. The court took cognisance and issued non-bailable warrants against them.
Nirav Modi left India along with his family in the first week of January, weeks before the scam was reported to the CBI. His wife Ami, a US citizen, left on January 6 and Choksi on January 4.
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EC demands extra security as unrest grips Bangladesh afresh
Dhaka (PTI): The Election Commission (EC) has demanded extra security for its chief, other commissioners and officials as fresh unrest visibly gripped Bangladesh after gunmen shot an upcoming parliamentary polls candidate and frontline leader of last year's violent street movement dubbed 'July Uprising'.
"The EC has written to the Inspector General of Police (IGP) urging comprehensive security arrangements for the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC), Election Commissioners (ECs), senior officials of the Election Commission Secretariat," the state-run BSS news agency reported on late Saturday.
The EC simultaneously sought the extra security for its field-level offices ahead of the 13th national election, as two of them came under attack in southeastern Lakshmipur and southwestern Pirojpur by unidentified miscreants after the announcement of the schedule for the upcoming polls on Thursday.
The commission demanded an additional escort vehicle for the CEC, while one such police escort with a vehicle was currently in place for him. It asked for round-the-clock police escorts for the four commissioners and the senior secretary.
The letter said the enhanced security measures were "urgent and necessary," while EC officials said their 10 regional offices, 64 district election offices and 522 sub-district level offices would store important documents and election materials.
The EC on Thursday said the upcoming parliamentary election would be held on February 12 next year, while a day later, Sharif Osman Hadi was shot from a close range in the head, critically wounding him, as he initiated his election campaign from a constituency in the capital.
Critically ill former prime minister Khaleda Zia's Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) simultaneously asked Muhammad Yunus' government to provide security for all candidates in the upcoming election after the attack on Hadi, who leads a radical right-wing cultural group called Inquiab Mancha.
"We demand that the real culprit be identified immediately and brought under the law, and we call upon this government to ensure the security of all candidates without delay," BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said.
Hadi was also a frontline leader of last year's student-led violent uprising that toppled then-prime minister Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League government on August 5, 2024.
His Inquilab Mancha was also at the forefront of a campaign to disband the Awami League, which the interim government complied with in May this year, disqualifying the party from contesting the polls.
The government on Saturday ordered a nationwide security clampdown called 'Operation Devil Hunt 2' amid escalated fears over the law and order situation and promised to issue firearms licenses for election candidates for their own security.
Home adviser (retd) Lieutenant General Jahangir Alam Chowdhury said the government had taken steps to ensure special security for the "frontline fighters" of the July Uprising and promised to issue firearms licenses for the election candidates.
He emphasised that the second phase of the 'Devil Hunt' was aimed at helping ensure public safety and combat the growing threat of illegal arms.
The operation was initially launched in February this year following protests over an attack on the private house of a former minister of the ousted government in the northern suburb of the capital, when it targeted alleged "henchmen" and supporters of the now disbanded Awami League.
