Assets worth over £21.9 million have been attached by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the £1.3 billion Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud. They belong to fugitive diamantaire Mehul Choksi, Mihir Bhansali, a close aide and US-based executive of main accused in the case Nirav Modi, and a company named AP Gems and Jewellery Park. Both, Choksi and Modi are currently sought by multiple investigating agencies after it was revealed that the two extracted millions in loans from banks abroad on the basis of fake guarantees in the name of Punjab National Bank, India's second-largest state-owned bank.
Choksi, who is currently in Antigua, where he has been living amid efforts in India to bring him back, said, “The Enforcement Directorate has attached my properties illegally without any basis.” He was granted citizenship of Antigua and Barbuda last year, and took the oath of allegiance to the country on January 15. The government has been trying to extradite the jeweller, who left India with his nephew, celebrity diamond jeweller Nirav Modi.
Choksi had said there is “no question of surrendering passport”, adding that it had been revoked “without explanation as to why I am a security threat.” Choksi has alleged that the cases against him are a result of political conspiracy, after which India's extradition request was put on hold by the Interpol.
