SOURCE: INDIAN EXPRESS: THE ENFORCEMENT Directorate (ED) told a special court that absconding diamond jeweller Mehul Choksi had devised the plan of running out from India long back and took citizenship of Antigua and Barbuda in November 2017, two months before the FIR was filed in the Punjab National Bank fraud case.
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The ED claimed that Choksi left India under suspicious circumstances on January 2, 2018, days before an FIR was filed in the PNB case, in which he is the main accused.
Through his lawyers, Choksi has denied the ED allegations stating that the agency has not produced any material to support its claim.
Choksi is currently facing proceedings under the Fugitive Economic Offenders (FEO) Act, which gives the central government powers to confiscate properties even before the trial begins.
In August, a special court had directed the ED to produce documents relevant to deciding whether there are sufficient grounds to declare Choksi an FEO, partly allowing a plea made by him.
The ED earlier this month submitted the documents.
“…Mehul Choksi had long back devised the plan of running out of India as he was sure that his fraud would burst soon. With this criminal intent, he first applied for visa in or around March 2017, then took citizenship of Antigua and Barbuda on 10.11.2017 through investment mode and thereafter obtained Antiguan and Barbudan passport on 16.11.2017,” one of the ED documents states.
The ED said that Choksi had claimed that he could not join the probe by returning to India as his Indian passport was revoked in February 2018.
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The agency countered this by stating that Choksi could have easily traveled to India on the passport of Antigua and Barbuda, which he had obtained in November 2017.
It also claimed that Choksi was aware that he had cheated the bank to the tune of Rs 6,000 crore and would be prosecuted if he traveled to India. It also alleges that anticipating that the fraud would be unearthed soon and he would be arrested, Choksi tried to dispose of his properties before fleeing.
Through his lawyers Vijay Aggarwal and Rahul Agarwal, Choksi has claimed that the documents submitted by the ED have a contradictory stand.
Their pleas filed before court also claimed that the ED has instead of submitting documents as per the court’s order, have made fresh allegations.
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