ED attaches Mehul Choksi’s Thailand factory worth Rs 13 crores

Bank fraud accused and fugitive Mehul Choksi has landed in fresh trouble, as the Enforcement Directorate has issued a provisional order to attach his Thailand factory, worth Rs 13 crore.

ED attaches under PMLA, a factory premise worth Rs.13.14 Crore in Thailand (M/s Abbeycrest (Thailand) belongs to Gitanjali Group of Mehul Choksi in #bankfraud case. pic.twitter.com/MLbxkhi7Ga

— ED (@dir_ed) January 4, 2019

According to reports, the ED, after probe and gathering concrete evidence about a Thailand factory, discovered it is owned by Abbeycrest (Thailand) Ltd. which is connected to Choksi’s Geetanjali group of companies. ED said that the attachment has been done under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, and the factory is a beneficiary of the Letters of Understanding (LoUs), that were fraudulently issued from the Punjab National Bank, worth Rs 92.3 crore. ED under the same act had attached various other properties of Choksi last year.

The ED will reportedly soon issue Letters Rogatories (judicial requests) for the legal formalisation of the attachment of the property in Thailand.

“With this attachment, the value of attachment/seizure in the PNB scam is to the tune of Rs 4,765 crore (approx). Further investigation is in the process,” ED was quoted by media reports.

Nirav Modi, his uncle Mehul Choksi and others are being probed under various criminal laws after the Indian financial sector was rocked by a startling revelation of fraud early last year following a complaint by the Punjab National Bank (PNB). Both Nirav Modi and Choksi are currently absconding. Mehul Choksi is reported to be residing in the Carribean country of Antigua, with which India doesn’t have an extradition treaty. In December, last year, his advocates had given an assurance to the court that their client is fully cooperating with banks, to settle the case. They also said that Choksi cannot travel to India, due to his bad health.