Mumbai: The Metropolitan Magistrate on Wednesday issued a proclamation notice against fugitive businessman Mehul Choksi in connection with a cheating case registered against him by the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of Mumbai police in 2019. Followed by the order, if Choksi fails to appear before the court, it would proceed to declare him a proclaimed offender and the agency will have the right to confiscate his assets.
Apart from the Mumbai police, the CBI had also sought to declare Choksi a proclaimed offender in October 2019. However, the plea is still pending for hearing.
Meanwhile, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) which probed the money laundering case had sought to declare Choksi a fugitive economic offender in August 2019. However, the proceedings were challenged before the high court and remained pending till last year. It was only in September last year that the HC rejected his plea and the application is now being heard by the special court.
Choksi was booked by EOW in 2019 on the complaint of a city-based Laxmi Infra Developers Ltd for cheating. Choksi had sold his real estate project to the complainant firm 15 days before he fled from the company. The project was stalled due to several litigations and attachment by the ED. The directors of the firm were also made accused by the ED in the case.
Choksi has been first booked by CBI for cheating Punjab National Bank by obtaining a letter of understanding fraudulently. The ED later initiated a money laundering probe against him. Choksi’s three companies – Gitanjali Gems, Gili India Ltd and Nakshatra Brands – fraudulently obtained letters of undertaking (LoUs) worth ₹3,011.39 crore and got the credit limit of foreign letters of credit (FLCs) enhanced to ₹3,086.24 crore.
