PNB Scam Case: Enforcement Directorate Seizes Mehul Choksi’s Assets, Including Dubai Properties Worth Rs 24 Crore

The Enforcement Directorate has attached properties worth Rs 24.8 crores of diamond merchant and willful defaulter Mehul Choksi, who is an accused in the Punjab National Bank scam case.

This includes three commercial properties in Dubai, valuables, one Mercedes Benz car and a fixed deposit account, the agency said.

The properties have been attached under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) 2002.

Of the total proceeds of crime worth Rs 6,097.73 crore, the Enforcement Directorate has attached and seized properties worth Rs 2,534.7 crore, including the latest attachment.

Currently, Choksi is fighting a case in an anti-corruption court in Mumbai to stop the Enforcement Directorate from declaring him a fugitive formally.

Earlier, the Enforcement Directorate had told the Bombay High Court that it was even ready to provide Choksi an air ambulance to get him to India.

In an affidavit filed before the court earlier, the Enforcement Directorate had stated that Choksi's submission about his health concerns appeared to be "facades being erected merely to mislead the court".

The agency had added that best medical services were available in India and, if required, would be provided to Choksi on his return.

It had also brought to the court's attention the discharge summary of the hospital in New York, where he had successfully undergone surgery in February 2008, which allowed the diamantaire to return to work within three to five days.

The Enforcement Directorate, which had moved a special PMLA court to get Choksi declared a fugitive economic offender, has accused him of fleeing the country in order to avoid arrest.

Incidentally, Choksi and his nephew Nirav Modi, who is currently in a London jail, are wanted by the Enforcement Directorate the CBI for allegedly defrauding the Punjab National Bank (PNB) to the tune of Rs 13,400 crore.