In a letter released by Gitanjali Gems promoter Mehul Choksi to his employees, Choksi has asked them to look for jobs elsewhere as his company is not in a position to pay current and future dues as all assets are sealed by the investigating agencies.
I am facing a lot of problems due to the manner in which the multiple investigative agencies/ government agencies have started to create a havoc, hell bent upon stopping the operations: #MehulChoksi to his employees in a letter released by his lawyer Sanjay Abbot
— ANI (@ANI) February 24, 2018
As reported by Republic TV, in his letter released by his lawyer Sanjay Abbot, Choksi claims that the operations have come to a standstill as the government and investigating agencies have ‘started to create havoc’ and are ‘hell-bent’ on stopping operations’. He says a ‘situation of fear and injustice has been created against him and his organisation’. He claims innocence and says that while the investigation takes its course, the operations in his company have come to a standstill and it would make it difficult to pay the dues and salaries of employees currently as well as in future. Keeping that in view, he has requested the employees to look for other career opportunities. He also promised to pay the past dues of the employees, once things return to normalcy.
Diamond merchant Nirav Modi and his maternal uncle and business partner Mehul Choksi are accused in the multi-crore Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud case. Recently, the Enforcement Directorate had seized several premium cars, including a Rolls Royce Ghost, Porsche Panamera, 2 Mercedes Benz among others, belonging to Nirav Modi and his companies.
The Enforcement Directorate had issued a summons for appearance to Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi, for their involvement in the Rs. 11,400 crore PNB fraud. The summons was issued under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
Meanwhile, the ED has raided several offices and showrooms of Nirav Modi and Choksi and recovered Rs. 5100 crore in gems, jewellery and gold. The case was registered against them after the Punjab National Bank had registered complaints with Law Enforcement authorities alleging fraud.
On 31st January, CBI had booked Nirav Modi and others in a separate case of cheating worth Rs. 280 crore after a complaint by PNB. It is being probed whether the proceeds of the crime were converted into black money and used to create illegal assets. Mehul Choksi has been involved in shady dealings in the past. After an investigation by SEBI, Mehul Choksi and a set of firms were suspected of market manipulation and subsequently barred from trading for a period of six months.
Acting on the advice of the ED, the Ministry of External Affairs has suspended the passports of Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi for four weeks with immediate effect.
