I-T dept attaches Rs 12-bn SEZ unit of Gitanjali Gems in Hyderabad

The Income Tax Department today said it has attached a Rs 12 billion worth property of the Gitanjali group, located in a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in Hyderabad, in connection with its tax evasion probe.

The officials said the property has been provisionally attached under the Income Tax law and the action was taken to "recover outstanding tax demands".

They said the valuation of the property, in the SEZ at Rs 12 billion, has been done by the assessee and the department has put up a notice on the property.

The department, in the last few days, has similarly attached nine bank accounts and seven properties of the group and Choksi.

The department had first raided billionaire diamond jeweller Nirav Modi in January last year on charges of alleged tax evasion and had also surveyed Gitanjali Gems promoter Choksi's businesses.

Modi, Choksi and others are being investigated by multiple probe agencies after it recently came to light, following a complaint by the Punjab National Bank (PNB), that they allegedly cheated the bank to the tune of Rs 114 billion, with the purported involvement of a few employees of the bank.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) have registered two FIRs each to probe this case.