[ad_1] New Delhi: ED is eyeing the assets worth about Rs 80 crore deposited abroad by fugitive diamond merchant Mehul Choksi. To return the money to the victims of the alleged fraud committed by Choksi, the agency has contacted foreign countries. ED has requested him/her to transfer the money to India by selling the property. Choksi is accused of loan fraud of Rs 13 thousand crore from PNB. ED has already started the process of returning assets worth more than Rs 2.5 thousand crores. After Choksi was spotted in Belgium, Indian agencies are trying to bring him/her back.ED identifies Choksi's assets abroadED has identified five properties of Choksi and his/her companies in Thailand, Dubai, Japan and the US. Choksi's ownership in Dubai includes a villa (1,518 sq m) and an office space in Almas Tower. There is an immovable property in Thailand, which according to ED is owned by Choksi. A flat in Manhattan, New York and a 22.56% stake (7,49,500 shares) in Japan's GSTV Company Limited are also on the ED's radar.letter written to foreign officialsThe agency has written a letter to foreign authorities, but has not received any reply yet. A senior official said, 'Our effort is to sell these foreign assets and return the money to the victims of fraud as soon as possible.' This follows a Mumbai court order in September last year. The court had approved the petition of Punjab National Bank and ICICI Bank. These banks claimed that Choksi had defrauded them. The banks had argued that the properties attached by the ED are subject to normal wear and tear and hence the price value of the properties is depreciating day by day. They wanted the money to be recovered by selling the properties.ED held a meeting with bank officialsED and bank officials had held a meeting last year. In this the ED had agreed to return the properties. Last month, ED had said that it has started returning assets worth more than Rs 2,500 crore as part of the money laundering investigation against Choksi in the Rs 13,000 crore PNB loan fraud case. The statement said, 'As per the order, the process of handing over the assets has been initiated and assets worth more than Rs 125 crore have been handed over to the liquidator of Gitanjali Gems Limited (a company of Choksi)."The handed over properties include six flats in Kheni Tower in Santa Cruz, Mumbai and two factories/warehouses located in Santa Cruz Electronic Export Processing Zone," the ED said in its statement in December.Choksi's property worth Rs 2.5 thousand crores confiscatedED has attached assets worth Rs 2,565.90 crore against Choksi in this case. The Mumbai court, in its September 10 order, had given permission to sell all these properties. The agency said it took proactive steps to initiate the process of returning the assets and the investigating agency agreed to take a similar stance with the affected banks and approached the court.India trying to extradite ChoksiIndian investigative agencies are trying to bring Choksi back to India from Belgium, where he/she was seen. Choksi, now based in Antigua, is still elusive and is said to have come to Belgium for treatment, giving agencies an opportunity to nab him/her. The CBI had demanded Choksi's immediate custody after receiving news of his/her visit to Belgium. Belgian authorities had sought a formal extradition request last year and India had completed the process so that Choksi could be captured and brought to India. [ad_2]
