Choksi says not related to firm involved in PNB fraud, claims innocence

New Delhi: Mehul Choksi, one of the two businessmen allegedly involved in perpetrating India’s biggest ever banking fraud, Wednesday said he was not a partner in any of the firms under scrutiny for the scam, claiming he had quit them in 2000.

In a statement issued by his lawyers, the raids against him were on the basis of “an old and dated ‘Know Your Customer’ (KYC) document” submitted by him to the Punjab National Bank in 1995.

“Mr Choksi had sought to correct the details of this KYC on several occasions. He was not a partner in any of the firms under scrutiny for the purported scam being investigated at that time. In fact, Mr Choksi had quit all these firms way back in 2000,” it said.

He said he was presently not able to repay loans because of the asset freeze orders. “In such a scenario, Choksi cannot be expected to service any outstanding loans.

Mr. Choksi has banked with the PNB for over 25 years, and not once in the said period has he defaulted on a single loan. He doesn’t intend to do so now,” it said.

Choksi and his nephew Nirav Modi, both owners of jewellery store chains, are alleged to have colluded with two employees of PNB in the alleged fraud.

“Mr Choksi had called up PNB officials as well and was given the impression that the issue could be amicably resolved. PNB chose to ignore these repeated requests and calls, instead the bank went so far as to make this old and out of date KYC document the very basis of their allegations,” the statement said.

It alleged that PNB in a “desperate attempt to save their own skin” diverted attention away from the role of the bank and the cracks in their own system.

“In doing so they targeted and destroyed a Rs 12,000 crore business that had been built up over a period of 25 years. With brands like Nakshatra, Ginni, Asmi, and Gitanjali, Mr Choksi occupied a huge space in the public imagination and the gems and jewellery business in India. By tarring such a brand, PNB attempted to divert attention from its own shenanigans elsewhere,” the statement said.

His lawyers said he didn’t just write to PNB to correct the KYC record but made representations to the National Stock Exchange and the BSE as well on February 7, 2018.

“The same representation was repeatedly made to the Central Bureau of Investigation as well, but in vain,” the statement said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by The Kashmir Monitor staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)