The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Friday filed three fresh FIRs against fugitive businessman Mehul Choksi, and jewellery brands Gitanjali and Nakshatra. The FIRs were filed on a complaint from the Punjab National Bank bringing to light an additional Rs 6,746 crore loss incurred by it and other consortium banks, officials said.
Four years after his dramatic escape and failure of state-run PNB to detect the scam between 2010 and 2018, it filed three complaints with the CBI on March 21, reporting the additional loss caused by Choksi and his firm Gitanjali Gems Ltd, Nakshatra Brands Ltd and Gili India Ltd.
Indian authorities have asked Antiguan authorities to extradite Choksi, as the on-the-run diamantaire is currently under arrest by Dominican authorities for allegedly entering the country illegally.
Mehul Choksi is the key accused in the Punjab National Bank scam case, along with his nephew Nirav Modi. Choksi was taken into custody in Dominica, the Caribbean island country, in May last year after he went missing from Antigua and Barbuda where he had taken citizenship.
He allegedly escaped India to avoid charges of orchestrating Rs 13,500 crore scam in PNB. He was left on bail after 51 days by the Dominica High Court there.
In the past, India had made desperate attempts to bring him back with a CBI team stationed there with a private jet. His lawyers however had alleged that he was abducted from Antigua by “Indian-looking men” who had brought him to Dominica.
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