New Delhi [India], November 24 : In a major step towards restitution of assets in the multi-crore Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud case linked to fugitive Mehul Choksi, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has handed over four attached flats in Mumbai to the liquidator.
ED's Mumbai Zonal Office took the step by handing over these flats from the Tatva Urja project in Mumbai's Borivali (East) to the liquidator on November 21.
These properties, attached in the money-laundering case involving Mehul Choksi and others, will now be monetised for the benefit of victims, secured creditors, and other eligible claimants, said the ED in a statement on Monday.
With this, immovable and movable assets worth a cumulative Rs 310 crore located in Mumbai, Kolkata, and Surat have so far been transferred to the liquidator of Gitanjali Gems Ltd.
The ED's probe under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) revealed that between 2014 and 2017, Mehul Choksi, along with his associates and Punjab National Bank officials, fraudulently obtained Letters of Undertaking and Foreign Letters of Credit, causing a wrongful loss of Rs 6,097.63 crore to PNB. Choksi had also defaulted on a loan taken from ICICI Bank.
During the investigation, the ED carried out searches at over 136 locations nationwide, seizing valuables and jewellery worth Rs 597.75 crore belonging to the Gitanjali Group. Additionally, movable and immovable assets worth Rs 1,968.15 crore, including properties in India and abroad, vehicles, bank accounts, factory units, listed shares, and jewellery, were attached.
In total, the ED has attached or seized assets worth Rs 2,565.90 crore in the case, and three prosecution complaints have been filed.
To fast-track the return of proceeds to victim banks, the ED and the banks jointly approached the Special PMLA court in Mumbai with a consent application. The court directed the agency to facilitate the valuation and auction of the attached properties by the banks and liquidators. It further ordered that all sale proceeds be deposited in PNB and ICICI Bank as fixed deposits.
"The remaining assets are being handed over to the banks and the liquidator in line with the court's directions," added the federal agency.