PNB fraud: ED calls Gitanjali Gems affidavit 'false, misleading'

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The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday told the Delhi High Court that the affidavits filed by the Diamantaire Nirav Modi's uncle and business partner Mehul Choksi's firm Gitanjali Gems in the court were "false and misleading."

In connection with the pleas filed on the Gitanjali Gems in the court, the ED said, "The company cleverly veils any reference to Mehul Choksi, who left India in the twilight of the scam coming to the notice of the law enforcement agencies."

On April 6, the court issued a notice to the ED on a plea of Gitanjali Gems, seeking quashing of a money laundering case against the company.

The Punjab National Bank in February detected the scam, wherein Modi and Choksi had allegedly cheated the bank to the tune of Rs 114 billion, with the purported involvement of a few employees of the bank.

The scam, which reportedly began in 2011, was detected in the third week of January this year, after which the PNB officials reported it to the concerned agencies.

The ED registered the money laundering case against Nirav Modi and others on the basis of a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) FIR.

Currently, the probe agencies are investigating the matter and have also seized many properties of Modi and Choksi.