PNB Scam: Authority says properties worth of Rs 1,210 cr belong to Mehul Choksi are money-laundering assets

A designated Prevention of Money Laundering Act authority said that 41 properties worth about Rs 1,210 crore attached by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the name of absconding PNB scam accused Mehul Choksi and his associated firms, are money laundering assets.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has provisionally attached 15 flats and 17 offices in Mumbai, a four-acre farmhouse in Alibaug, a mall in Kolkata, Panvel in Maharashtra and Villupuram in Tamil Nadu, and 231 acres of land at Nashik, Nagpur, this February. These properties are attached under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) regarding the about USD 2 billion alleged Punjab National Bank (PNB) scam at a Mumbai-based branch.

A recent order issued by Member (Law) of the Adjudicating Authority of the PMLA, Tushar V Shah, said that considering the material in the original complaint (by the ED).. he finds that immovable properties provisionally attached are all involved in money laundering. He said in an order, "I, therefore, hereby confirm the attachment of properties...and order that the said attachment shall continue during investigation for a period not exceeding ninety days or the pendency of proceedings relating to any offence under the PMLA before a court and become final after an order of confiscation is passed by the special court,"

According to sources, the ED will now move to seize these properties. ED had issued a provisional order for attachment of these assets within the framework of its criminal probe against Mehul Choksi, his company Gitanjali Gems along with associated firms and their associates, under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

Some of the other attached assets comprised a 170-acre park in Hyderabad's Ranga Reddy district valued at over Rs. 500 crores, four flats in Borivali (east) area of the Maharashtra capital and nine others in Khemu Towers in Santacruz (east).

ED investigated Mehul Choksi and designer diamond jewelry businessman Nirav Modi and others after Punjab National Bank bank fraud came to light early this year. The scam exposed after a complaint by the PNB that they allegedly cheated the bank with the value of Rs 12,000 crore, with the alleged involvement of a few employees of the bank.