Sebi orders Mehul Choksi to pay ₹2.1 crore for insider trading breach

Sebi has issued a ₹2.1 crore notice to Mehul Choksi for insider trading in Gitanjali Gems and warned of asset seizure; he also faces a court warrant in a ₹55 crore fraud case

India's market regulator, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), has issued a notice to Mehul Choksi, asking him to pay ₹2.1 crore for violating insider trading rules related to Gitanjali Gems Ltd, according to a PTI report. Sebi warned that if the amount is not paid within 15 days, it will initiate proceedings to seize his properties and bank accounts.

 

The notice, dated 15 May, includes a penalty of ₹1.5 crore and interest of ₹60 lakh. Sebi stated that if Choksi fails to comply, the recovery will be made by attaching and selling his movable and immovable assets. His bank accounts may also be frozen, and he could face arrest.

 

 

This action follows Choksi’s failure to pay a fine imposed in January 2022.

The PNB scam

Choksi, who was chairman, managing director, and promoter of Gitanjali Gems, is also the maternal uncle of Nirav Modi. Both men are accused of defrauding Punjab National Bank (PNB) of over ₹14,000 crore. They fled India after the scam came to light in early 2018. 

 

Choksi has been living in Antigua since 2018. Last year, he travelled to Belgium citing medical treatment. He was arrested there last month following an extradition request from Indian authorities.

 

Nirav Modi was arrested by Scotland Yard in March 2019 and remains in custody in the UK.

Insider trading case

In its January 2022 order, Sebi found that Choksi had passed on confidential company information—classified as Unpublished Price Sensitive Information (UPSI)—to Rakesh Girdharlal Gajera. Gajera subsequently sold his 5.75 per cent stake in Gitanjali Gems in December 2017, just before news about fraudulent Letters of Undertaking (LoUs) became public.

 

These LoUs were fraudulently issued for companies under the Gitanjali Group, including Gitanjali Gems Ltd.

 

“Noticee No. 1, Choksi, was found to have communicated UPSI to Noticee No. 2 (Gajera) without any underlying legal obligation or legitimate purpose,” Sebi said in its final order.

 

Sebi concluded that both Choksi and Gajera violated the Prohibition of Insider Trading (PIT) regulations.

 

This is not the first time Sebi has taken action against Choksi. In May 2023, the regulator issued a separate notice demanding ₹5.35 crore for alleged fraudulent trading in Gitanjali Gems shares.

Another fraud case and non-bailable warrant

Separately, earlier this month, a Mumbai court issued a non-bailable warrant against Choksi in a 2022 bank fraud case, where he and others are accused of defrauding a consortium of banks—Canara Bank and Bank of Maharashtra—of ₹55.27 crore.

 

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) registered a case in July 2022 after a complaint from a senior Canara Bank official. The case involves Bezel Jewellery (India) Private Limited, where Choksi and three others served as directors. They allegedly conducted fake transactions and defaulted on repayments, diverting and misusing funds.