Sebi attaches bank, demat, MF accounts of Choksi to recover Rs 2.1 cr dues

Markets regulator Sebi has ordered the attachment of bank accounts and shares and mutual fund holdings of absconding diamantaire Mehul Choksi to recover dues totalling Rs 2.1 crore in a case of violation of insider trading rules in the shares of Gitanjali Gems.

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The latest move followed a demand notice issued to Choksi on May 15, warning attachment of assets as well as bank accounts if he failed to make the payment within 15 days.

The demand notice came after Choksi failed to pay the fine imposed by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) in January 2022 in a case of violation of insider trading rules in the shares of Gitanjali Gems Ltd.

Choksi, who was the chairman and managing director as well as part of promoter group of Gitanjali Gems, is the maternal uncle of Nirav Modi. Both are facing charges of defrauding state-owned Punjab National Bank (PNB) of more than Rs 14,000 crore. Both Choksi and Modi fled India after the PNB scam came to light in early 2018.

In April, Choksi was arrested in Belgium following an extradition request by Indian probe agencies. He was located in Belgium last year when he went there for getting medical treatment. He had been staying in Antigua since 2018 after leaving India.

Modi was arrested by the Scotland Yard Police in March 2019 and is currently in jail in that country.