Rs 6,000 Crore Fraud Case: CBI Registers 2 Fresh FIRs Against Mehul Choksi

New Delhi: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has registered two new FIRs against fugitive diamond merchant Mehul Choksi and two jewellery brands — Nakshatra Brands Limited and Gitanjali Gems Limited — for defrauding a consortium of banks, reported India Today.

The fresh FIRs came on the back of complaints received by CBI officials from Vijay Kumar Wadhwa, deputy general manager of the Mumbai zonal office of Punjab National Bank, against Nakshatra Brands Ltd and Gitanjali Gems Ltd, Mehul Choksi (MD of Gitanjali Gems Ltd), a guarantor for Nakshatra Brands Ltd Dhanesh Vrajlal Sheth, director of Nakshatra Brands Ltd, and several others, including public servants, for causing wrongful loss of over Rs 6,000 crores to a consortium of banks.

In the first complaint, it was alleged that Nakshatra Brands Ltd is a subsidiary of Gitanjali Gems Ltd and dominantly controlled and managed by Choksi who was allegedly in connivance with the accused persons named in the FIR.

The jewellery brand and other accused persons, including Choksi, were party to a criminal conspiracy to cheat a consortium of nine banks (led by PNB) of Rs 807.72 crore between January 21, 2010 and April 1, 2010.

The second complaint, filed by Wadhwa against Gitanjali Gems Ltd, Choksi, Vrajlal Sheth and others, it has been alleged that the jewellery brand along with accused persons conspired and cheated a consortium of 28 member banks (led by ICICI Bank) of Rs 5,564.54 crore between April 1, 2010 and January 31, 2018.

Both complaints claim that the jewellery brands and accused named in the FIR were involved in fudging of accounts, siphoning of funds and utilising the sanctioned credit limits for bogus trade transactions.

Choksi is wanted since January 2018, when he and his nephew Nirav Modi were booked for cheating PNB of over Rs 13,000 crore.

Multiple FIRs have since been registered against Choksi for bank frauds and cheating consortium of banks.