PNB fraud: ED attaches 41 properties of Mehul Choksi worth Rs 1217.20 crore

It includes 15 flats and 17 office premises in Mumbai, M/s Hyderabad Gems SEZ in AP, a shopping mall in Kolkata, farm house in Alibaug and 231 acres land in Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu.

New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday attached 41 properties worth Rs 1217.20 crore belonging to Mehul Choksi and the companies controlled by him.

The central probe agency issued a provisional order for attachment under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

The attached assets include 15 flats and 17 office premises in Mumbai, a mall in Kolkata, a four-acre farm house in Alibaug and 231 acres of land at locations like Nasik, Nagpur, Panvel and Villupuram in Tamil Nadu.

A 170-acre park in Hyderabad's Ranga Reddy district valued at over Rs 500 crore has also been attached, it said. Four flats in Borivali (east) area of the Maharashtra capital and nine others in Khemu Towers in Santacruz (east) have been attached as part of the action.

Diamond jeweller Nirav Modi and his uncle Mehul Choksi of Gitanjali Group are being probed in connection with the Rs 12,600-crore Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud case.

On Wednesday, a Blue Corner notice was issued against Modi and Choksi.

The CBI had filed the first FIR in the scam on February 14 against Modi, his wife Ami, brother Nishal, Choksi and his firms Diamond R US, Solar Exports and Stellar Diamond.

Nirav Modi, his family and Choksi left the country in early January.

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

To date, 12 persons have been arrested by the CBI in connection with the case. The Enforcement Directorate has claimed to have attached properties worth Rs 6,000 crore.