Latest news with #MehulChoksi
Indian Express
6 days ago
- Business
- Indian Express
Special court stays proceedings in 2022 bank fraud case filed against Choksi
A SPECIAL court Friday stayed proceedings against diamond merchant Mehul Choksi and a co-accused in a bank fraud case, pending before the magistrate court. The special court said that the magistrate court had in April issued summons to the seven accused in the case, including Choksi, but the order does not reflect any opinion of the court. Lawyers for Choksi and co-accused, Aniyath Nair, had approached the special court against the magistrate court order. 'The reasons are necessary not only for the litigants before the court but also for the superior courts to know the thought process of the learned trial court. The court expects at least some brief outline of the reasons which leads the Trial Court to form an opinion to issue summons in the case. Therefore, in view of this prima facie error of being no reasons in support of the order of issuance of process, the further proceedings…. pending before the court….are hereby stayed qua the present applicant Nos.5 (Nair) and 2 (Choksi) till next date,' the special court said. The case relates to a complaint filed in 2022, alleging wrongful losses caused to a consortium of banks led by Canara Bank to the tune of Rs 55.27 crore. Choksi, two companies— Bezel Jewellery India Ltd, Gitanjali Gems, and four other persons were named as accused by the CBI. The CBI had alleged that loans granted by the banks for manufacturing and sales of gold and diamond studded jewellery, were diverted by the accused. The magistrate court had passed an order summoning the accused and issued a non-bailable warrant against Choksi, who is currently facing proceedings in Belgium, where he is detained on an extradition request by Indian authorities, for investigation of the Rs 13,000-crore Punjab National Bank bank consortium fraud case. The lawyers for the accused, Rahul Agarwal and Jasmin Purani, had submitted that the magistrate court order taking cognizance of the chargesheet filed by the CBI was done 'mechanically', without giving any reasons. They also claimed that the order was passed in a 'lightning speed' on the same day when the chargesheet, running into thousands of pages, was put before the court, without perusal.
Time of India
6 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
CBI court grants interim stay on proceedings against Mehul Choksi in bank fraud case
Mumbai: A Special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court on Friday granted an interim stayed on the trial court proceedings before Magistrate court against wanted jeweller Mehul Choksi and other accused persons, Aniyath Nair and Vipul Chitalia in a bank fraud case probed by the CBI in relation to loan granted by Canara Bank to a company, Bazel Jewellery . In April, CBI had filed a chargesheet before the Esplanade court in the said matter alleging cheating, diversion of funds and misappropriation of funds by Mehul Choksi and other officials of the company. Explore courses from Top Institutes in Select a Course Category PGDM Technology Project Management MCA Management Finance others Others Data Science Data Science Operations Management healthcare Design Thinking Leadership Cybersecurity CXO Data Analytics Public Policy Degree MBA Digital Marketing Healthcare Product Management Artificial Intelligence Skills you'll gain: Financial Analysis & Decision Making Quantitative & Analytical Skills Organizational Management & Leadership Innovation & Entrepreneurship Duration: 24 Months IMI Delhi Post Graduate Diploma in Management (Online) Starts on Sep 1, 2024 Get Details Choksi and his nephew, Nirav Modi , are the main accused in the PNB case being probed by both, the ED and CBI for allegedly causing a loss of over Rs..25,000 crores to the bank. Choksi, is currently detained in a prison in Belgium where the police arrested him on India's request. He has contested the extradition . Advocate Vijal Aggarwal appearing for Mehul Choksi and others argued that the order summoning the accused persons is a non-reasoned and mechanical order as the perusal of the same shows that the Magistrate has not applied its mind and not given reasons for summoning the Accused persons as to how offence is made out against them. He further argued that the word used in Section 204 Cr.P.C. which deals with issuance of process/summons against an accused is 'sufficient reasons' and the said reasons have not been stated by the Magistrate in its order. He further argued that the Magistrate has taken cognizance and summoned the accused persons 'with lightning speed' on the same day it has received the chargesheet along with documents running into thousands of pages filed in trunks which suggests that the said order has been passed in a mechanical manner. Counsel appearing for CBI sought time to file reply to the Revision petitions filed by Mehul Choksi and others to reply to contentions raised by them. The Court granted time to CBI to file reply to the petition filed by l Choksi and others and posted the matter on August 8.
Hindustan Times
10-07-2025
- Hindustan Times
In major setback for Choksi, Belgian court rejects bail petition
In a setback for fugitive diamantaire Mehul Choksi, currently lodged in a prison in Antwerp, the Court of Cassation in Belgium -- equivalent to the Supreme Court of India -- has rejected his bail plea, which means he might have to stay in prison for a very long time, people familiar with the development said on Wednesday. Choksi was arrested by Antwerp police on April 11, based on an extradition request sent by CBI and has been lodged in the prison there for nearly three months now. (ANI) The Court of Cassation's decision was delivered last week according to an officer who didn't want to be named, strengthens the Central Bureau of Investigation's case against Choksi and validates the evidence provided there in the courts. 'The Court of Cassation didn't find Choksi's arguments for his release on bail convincing. He may not get relief very soon, even during extradition proceedings, which may not begin before September end,' added the officer. Choksi, 65, was arrested by Antwerp police on April 11, based on an extradition request sent by CBI and has been lodged in the prison there for nearly three months now. The fugitive businessman's legal team refused to comment on the matter. According to the second officer, a CBI team recently travelled to Antwerp to provide additional information and evidence against Choksi and his companies. Subsequently, the Indian team hired a European law firm to assist Belgian prosecutors during extradition proceedings which have been initiated under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 120 B (criminal conspiracy), 201 (destruction of evidence), 409 (criminal breach of trust), 420 (cheating), 477A (falsification of accounts), and sections 7 and 13 (bribery) of the Prevention of Corruption Act; which are crimes in Belgium as well under the dual criminality clause of extradition treaty. The United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (UNTOC) and United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) have also been invoked in the extradition request. The people cited in the first instance said Choksi recently tried to get relief citing ill-health and by offering to wear a GPS-enabled anklet at home , but this plea too was rejected by the Belgian courts. India has claimed before courts in Belgium that Choksi is a habitual offender and jumps extradition proceedings wherever he is found, as seen in the US and Antigua and Barbuda, and that if he is released on bail, he could easily cross over to another country in Europe, according to the second officer. Choksi is accused of defrauding Indian banks of ₹13,000 crore before fleeing from India in January 2018. As reported by HT in May, Indian investigators have submitted documentary evidence to the prosecutors in Belgium against Choksi in six bank frauds committed by him between 2018 and 2022 involving amounts totalling nearly ₹13,000 crore and court is already convinced that there is prima facie fear of him fleeing from Belgium. He was tracked by CBI to Belgium in July last year after which it approached the Belgian government with a formal extradition request.
Time of India
30-06-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Mehul Choksi challenges ED bid to tag him fugitive offender
Live Events (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel Diamond merchant Mehul Choksi , a key accused in the $2 billion Punjab National Bank fraud case, has moved the Bombay High Court seeking dismissal of the Enforcement Directorate 's (ED) application for declaring him a fugitive economic offender (FEO).Since Choksi is currently detained in a prison in Belgium where the police arrested him on India's request, he is already in the constructive custody of Indian investigating agencies and hence the proceedings should be dropped against him, his counsel Vijay Aggarwal argued in the court FEO tag is necessary for the ED to attach his foreign and his nephew, Nirav Modi , are the main accused in the PNB case being probed by the ED and CBI. It has been over a year since the ED filed an application before the court under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act seeking to declare the two accused fugitive economic offenders. However, arguments are yet to commence owing to various pleas filed by Modi and Choksi in various courts contesting the ED application.A court at Antwerp that had ordered the arrest of Choksi following India's request for his extradition, held that the charges of fraud, criminal conspiracy and criminal breach of trust levelled against him were punishable in Belgium, according to court documents accessed by ET. However, the charge of causing evidence of the crime to disappear cannot be tried as it isn't punishable in Belgium, the court held in its ruling on November 25 last year.
Bloomberg
30-06-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Fugitive Tycoon's Assets Offered for $58 Million at India Sale
A court-appointed liquidator in India expects to recover 5 billion rupees ($58.2 million) from the sale of precious metals, gemstones and real estate of diamond tycoon Nirav Modi, according to people familiar with the matter. Modi and his uncle, Mehul Choksi, are wanted in a $1.5 billion Indian fraud case, which stretches back to 2018. India's federal investigators have been pressing for their extradition.
