The Enforcement Directorate has attached 41 properties, valued at over £121.7 million, in connection with its money laundering probe in the PNB scam against Gitanjali Gems and its promoter Mehul Choksi. The central probe agency issued a provisional order for attachment under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). 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 £50 million is also attached, the ED said. Four flats in Borivali (East) area and nine others in Khemu Towers in Santacruz (East) have been attached as part of the action. “The total value of the 41 seized assets controlled by Choksi is estimated at £121.72 million,” the ED said. Nirav Modi, Choksi, and others are currently being investigated by the ED and other probe agencies after the fraud came to light following a complaint by PNB. Both, the CBI and the ED have registered two FIRs each to probe the case.
The ED is investigating if the allegedly defrauded bank funds were laundered and proceeds of crime were subsequently used by the accused to create illegal assets and black money.
