E-Paper
ED files 1st charge sheet against Mehul Choksi’s wife, calls her key beneficiary
ED has been investigating Priti Choksi’s role for a long time as she was suspected to be involved in running some alleged shell companies on behalf of her husband’s Gitanjali group
NEW DELHI: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has filed its first charge sheet against fugitive diamantaire Mehul Choksi’s wife Priti Choksi, alleging she was the ultimate beneficiary of certain offshore companies used for routing and parking of funds obtained by the couple through cheating Punjab National Bank (PNB), people aware of the matter said.
Apart from Priti, the central agency has again named Mehul Choksi, their three companies – Gitanjali Gems, Gili India Ltd and Nakshatra Brand Ltd and former PNB employee Gokulnath Shetty in the third charge sheet filed against them under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). Officials who didn’t want to be named said the fresh charge sheet was filed in a Mumbai court in March. But it was kept under wraps.
The two previous charge sheets were filed by ED in June 2018 and April 2020.
The fresh money laundering charges against Priti Choksi will allow agencies to pursue her extradition from Antigua, where she fled with her husband after acquiring citizenship in 2017. An Interpol red notice could also be issued against her.
Mehul Choksi mysteriously went missing from Antigua on May 23 last year, only to be found in Dominica the next day, Priti claimed in an interview with HT that her husband was abducted and tortured by Indian agents. She has been vocal in targeting the Indian government, repeatedly claiming that her husband cannot come to India as he will be kept hostage here.
Dominica last month dropped “illegal entry” proceedings against Mehul Choksi based on a report by Antiguan Royal Police, which confirmed the businessman was indeed abducted from the country.
ED has been investigating Priti Choksi’s role for a long time as she was allegedly involved in running some suspected shell companies in Dubai, Hong Kong and other countries and was aware of her husband’s illegal activities, a person aware of the matter said.
According to ED’s third charge sheet, Priti Choksi, also known as Priti Pradyotkumar Kothari, was the ultimate beneficial owner of three companies –including Hillingdon Holdings Ltd and Charing Cross Holdings Ltd in the UAE. Hillingdon was incorporated by Priti and one Dion Lillywhite (an employee of US-based Gitanjali Group company and dummy director in some of the group companies) and the sole shareholder of M/s Goldhawk DMCC (previously named Diminico DMCC), the document said.
HT has reviewed the charge sheet.
According to the charge sheet, the company owns three properties in the UAE with a total area of over 5,100 square feet worth over ₹22 crore.
“Priti Choksi was fully aware that the companies – Hillingdon Holdings Ltd, Goldhawk DMCC and Asian Diamond Jewellery UAE were beneficially owned and controlled by Mehul Choksi. She helped him in incorporating firms in UAE to acquire properties therein. During investigation, summons was issued to her but she didn’t honour them,” the ED charge sheet said.
“She has helped Mehul Choksi in layering proceeds of crime and was hand in glove with him getting incorporated companies for laundering and siphoning of proceeds of crime,” it added.
The charge sheet mentions proceeds of crime involving Choksis and their three parent companies – Gitanjali, Gili and Nakshatra – to be worth ₹6,097 crore ( ₹3,011 crore for Letters of Undertaking and ₹3,086 crore for Foreign Letters of Credit).
Referring to imports ( ₹32,266 crore) and exports (total ₹8,663 crore) by Mehul Choksi’s Gitanjali group companies between 2014 and 2017, the charge sheet said companies in Hong Kong and UAE were used for rotation of goods and funds to project an inflated turnover. “The goods exported from India were of abysmally low quality but its value was highly inflated,” ED said.
An independent valuation of a set of products by ED revealed that goods estimated to be valued worth ₹103 crore, were declared to be worth ₹3,840 crore.
The siphoned money was routed to dummy companies in Hong Kong and UAE, directly controlled by Mehul Choksi, and the money was used to acquire properties in various countries including the US.
ED has listed a property in Manhattan, New York, purchased by Choksi in 2010 from one Robert Liubicic for consideration of $8,95,000 (around ₹5.72 crore). This flat was transferred by Choksi to his daughter-in-law Snigdha Taneja.
ED has listed at least 20 offshore companies controlled by Choksi, which were used for routing and parking funds.
“The huge economic scam brewing since 2013-14 came to the notice of bank only when it did not issue fresh LOUs in the absence of the requisite documents and sanctions. By this time, open/unpaid LOUs/FLCs (issued by committing fraud) had mounted up to ₹6,097.63 crore. The modus operandi of issuance of LOUs/FLCs through fraud was done with the criminal intent of illegally enjoying the credit facility without providing proper collateral and with nominal interest payable and rotating the money for their own end use, by circumventing the established banking procedures and checks,” the charge sheet says.
Choksi’s lawyer Vijay Aggarwal refused to comment on the charge sheet.
