Mumbai: The income tax (I-T) department on Thursday confirmed that it had taken physical possession of immovable properties worth over ₹150 crore owned by Mehul Choksi, who is wanted along with his maternal nephew Nirav Modi in the ₹13,500 crore fraud at the Punjab National Bank. I-T officials said the property has been seized under provisions of the Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Act (BTPA).
I-T sources confirmed that recently officials had gone to Igatpuri to take possession of several land parcels that belonged to benamidar Nashik Multi Services SEZ Ltd, of which Choksi’s Geetanjali Gems was the alleged beneficial owner. I-T officials in the presence of independent witnesses took over the properties physically.
The department has also confiscated other properties, including three office spaces in Mumbai’s Bandra Kurla Complex, belonging to Choksi’s firms.
Like other properties owned by Choksi and Modi and attached by the Enforcement Directorate, the properties attached by the I-T are also likely to be auctioned to repay the dues of the state-run bank.
The tax agency had in April this year confiscated the properties of Choksi, who is accused of the multi-crore PNB scam. The I-T sleuths had also seized Choksi’s nine acres of agricultural land in Nashik.
The PNB scam relates to the fraudulent letter of undertaking issued by the bank. Diamantaire Nirav Modi is the key accused in the case. Both Choksi and Modi fled India after the PNB scam came to light in early 2018.
Choksi, promoter and managing director of Gitanjali Gems, is the maternal uncle of Nirav Modi. The stock market regulatory body has banned Choksi from the capital markets for one year and has also levied a fine.
The fugitive diamantaire is currently living in Antigua and Barbuda and the government is pursuing his extradition.
In May last year, Mehul Choksi had gone missing but was soon caught in Dominica. He was charged with illegal entry by the Dominican police after allegedly escaping from Antigua and Barbuda in a possible attempt to evade extradition to India. But, the prosecution dropped the charges later.