‘She knew of proceedings, ED didn’t mislead court’: Priti Choksi loses plea to cancel warrant

MUMBAI: A special PMLA court has rejected two applications by Priti Choksi, wife of fugitive diamantaire Mehul Choksi, seeking cancellation of a bailable warrant issued against her in the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) money-laundering case linked to the ₹13,000-crore Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud

MUMBAI: A special PMLA court has rejected two applications by Priti Choksi, wife of fugitive diamantaire Mehul Choksi, seeking cancellation of a bailable warrant issued against her in the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) money-laundering case linked to the ₹13,000-crore Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud. The court held that she was aware of the proceedings and that the ED had neither suppressed facts nor misled it while obtaining the warrant.

Special judge Subhash K Karhale observed that Choksi had known about the case “since beginning” and could not insist that the agency serve summons at an overseas address that had not been duly established. The warrant was issued on August 9, 2023.

Choksi had argued that the ED knew she was residing in Belgium and should have followed the Ministry of Home Affairs’ guidelines on mutual legal assistance in criminal matters to serve summons abroad. Her lawyers, Yash Agarwal, Rahul Agarwal and Jasmin Purani, also questioned the validity of summons sent by email or to her last-known Indian address. They contended that the CBI, rather than the ED, was the appropriate agency to serve legal processes overseas.

Opposing the applications, special public prosecutor Kavita Patil, appearing for the ED, said summons had been issued to Choksi at her last-known Indian address on December 14 and 22, 2021, and January 6, 2022, but she had failed to appear. The agency also told the court that the couple’s flat was found locked and there was no proof that she was still residing in Belgium.

The court noted that Choksi appeared through a lawyer only after the warrant was issued. It also pointed out that the memo of appearance, filed on August 22, 2023, and the vakalatnama had no embassy authentication.

“This shows that the applicant-accused is watching this proceeding but hiding her existence in abroad,” the judge observed.

The court held that the ministry’s guidelines were meant to assist investigating agencies in serving summons and pursuing extradition, but did not give an accused who had fled abroad the right to insist on service at an unauthorised foreign address. The judge also observed that Choksi was, prima facie, a wrongdoer who had fled the country and could not dictate where the ED should serve the summons.

In her second application, Choksi sought recall of the August 2023 order, alleging that the ED had obtained it by suppressing material facts, including her claimed residence in Belgium and its alleged failure to follow the ministry’s guidelines. Her counsel argued that this amounted to fraud on the court.

Rejecting the plea, the judge said the judgments cited by her lawyers were distinguishable and that principles laid down in civil cases could not be applied to criminal proceedings in the manner argued.

“The ED has not suppressed any facts. It has not misrepresented the court. It has not caused any fraud upon the court,” the order stated.

In a supplementary prosecution complaint filed in 2022, the ED alleged that Choksi, also known as Priti Pradyotkumar Kothari, had helped incorporate three UAE-based companies used to acquire properties and layer proceeds of crime, and was their ultimate beneficial owner. The agency pegged the alleged proceeds of crime involving the Choksis and three Gitanjali group companies — Gitanjali Gems, Gili India and Nakshatra Brand — at ₹6,097 crore.

The ruling comes days after Hindustan Times reported that a court had issued non-bailable warrants against the Choksis in a separate Registrar of Companies prosecution over alleged company-law violations involving Gitanjali Jewellery Retail Ltd and its customer deposit schemes.