Agency alleges shell companies and overseas fund diversion
Nearly eight years after the probe into fugitive diamond trader Mehul Choksi began in the multi-crore Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud case, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has, for the first time, formally claimed that his son Rohan Choksi was “actively involved” in money laundering. The assertion was made by the central probe agency in its written submissions before the Appellate Tribunal in Delhi.
The ED told the tribunal that Mehul Choksi was a director in several shell companies that existed only on paper and were allegedly created to show fictitious transactions and route proceeds of crime without any genuine trade activity. While Rohan Choksi has not been named in any FIR or charge sheet filed by the CBI or the ED under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), the agency argued that evidence on record indicates his active participation in laundering operations.
According to the ED, Rohan Choksi holds a 99.99 per cent shareholding in Luster Industries Private Limited, a company in which Mehul Choksi is also a director. The agency claimed the firm was used to divert funds abroad. Investigators further pointed to a transfer of USD 127,500 (approximately ₹81.6 lakh) from Asian Diamond and Jewellery FZE to Singapore-based Merlin Luxury Group Private Limited, alleging the money represented proceeds of crime.
The ED said Merlin Luxury Group was also under Mehul Choksi’s control and was operated through Luster Industries. Since Rohan Choksi holds an overwhelming stake in the company, the agency contended that he cannot be excluded from asset attachment proceedings. “All facts and evidence clearly show that Rohan Choksi was actively involved in the offence of money laundering along with his father,” the ED submitted, defending the attachment of assets linked to him.
The development has renewed speculation that the ED may widen the scope of its investigation to include other family members of Mehul Choksi. Choksi and his nephew Nirav Modi are the prime accused in the ₹13,000-crore PNB scam, in which bank officials were allegedly bribed to issue fraudulent Letters of Undertaking and Foreign Letters of Credit. Choksi fled India in January 2018 and is currently facing extradition proceedings in Belgium, while Nirav Modi remains lodged in a London jail.
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