PNB scam: Mehul Choksi tells court he has offered to settle bank’s dues
The businessman said he will not be able to travel 41 hours to India because of health problems.
Businessman Mehul Choksi, who is an accused in the Punjab National Bank scam, has told a special anti-money laundering court in Mumbai that he is in touch with the bank and has offered to settle his dues, The Times of India reported on Tuesday. The businessman made the statement in a 34-page reply to the Enforcement Directorate’s plea seeking to declare him a fugitive economic offender.
The businessman accused the agency of deliberately undervaluing many of his attached properties in order to get hold of many more. He said he would not be able to travel 41 hours to India because of his health problems but expressed his willingness to appear in court through videoconferencing from Antigua, ANI reported. Choksi accused the Enforcement Directorate of misleading the court by not revealing the extent of his health problems.
“It is clear that the same is nothing but a deliberate attempt on the part of the ED to mislead this honourable court by not placing on record all the relevant material for the consideration of this court but only placing on record selective material and information in order to mislead this court,” he said in the plea, according to The Indian Express.
The businessman claimed that the case against him was “completely different” from that against his nephew Nirav Modi, who is also an accused in a similar case involving the bank.
If the court accepts the Enforcement Directorate’s plea to declare Choksi a fugitive economic offender, the agency will be able to confiscate the businessman’s movable and immovable properties.
On December 13, it was reported that Interpol had issued a Red Corner Notice against Choksi based on a request from the Central Bureau of Investigation. Choksi had fled India in January, a few weeks before the Rs 13,600-crore scam came to light. In August, he said he had “lawfully applied” to become a citizen of Antigua and Barbuda to expand his business interests in the Caribbean.