The Enforcement Directorate (ED) named fugitive diamantaire Mehul Choksi’s wife Preeti Kothari for the first time in its supplementary chargesheet in the alleged fraud case of Punjab National Bank (PNB), which said she was “shaking hands with her husband”. was” and “the ultimate beneficial owner”.
The chargesheet also named Kothari and Choksi as accused along with three companies controlled by them as well as former PNB employee Gokulnath Shetty. Last week, a special court took cognizance of the chargesheet and issued proceedings against him.
“She (Kothari) was fully aware that all the Gitanjali Group companies…. was incorporated for the beneficial use of Shri Mehul Choksi and was owned and controlled by the same. Her husband Mr. Mehul Choksi was involved in fraud of over Rs 6,000 crore from PNB. During investigation, he was issued summons at his declared address, but he did not honor the summons. The ED chargesheet states that he helped Mr. Mehul Choksi in increasing the proceeds of the crime.
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The chargesheet also claimed that Kothari was aware of the source of the money which was being “moved illegally and fraudulently by her husband”.
The ED’s chargesheet states: “She was abettor of the offense and thus was actually involved in laundering of proceeds of the offence.”
It also called her an “active participant” in the generation of proceeds of the crime, stating that she was involved in their laundering – an offense under the Prevention of Money Laundering (PMLA) Act.
Based on the statements of witnesses and other evidence included in the chargesheet, the ED has claimed that in 2013, Kothari had incorporated three firms in UAE along with a senior employee of Gitanjali Group and a dummy director in some of its group companies. On paper, Ms Preeti Kothari was the last beneficial owner of all the three companies, the ED has claimed. The agency said companies invested in fixed assets in Dubai, purchased offices in towers, and money was laundered through these companies.
“Thus, Preeti Kothari, the beneficial owner of Hillingdon Holdings, having full knowledge of the nature and origin of the proceeds, knowingly and knowingly used, presumptively and claimed as unblemished,” the ED claimed.
A witness produced a list of documents and details of the Named Services Indemnity Agreement for Collindale Holdings Limited bearing the name and signature of Kothari.
The agency said in the chargesheet that Choksi intentionally left India with the intention of evading the investigating agencies and from the clutches of law. It also states that Choksi obtained citizenship of Antigua and Barbuda and was hiding there to protect himself from investigative agencies.
Advocates Vijay Aggarwal and Rahul Agarwal, representing Choksi, had denied the allegations.
Last year, Choksi was arrested in Dominica for illegally entering the country from Antigua, a country whose citizenship he acquired in 2017. In his defence, Choksi claimed that he was kidnapped from Antigua and forcibly taken to Dominica in a yacht. Last month, Dominican authorities dropped the charges against Choksi. Last year, Kothari had claimed that her husband was abducted by Indian agencies and was subject to human rights violations.
“Although there is no Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT) in criminal matters, between ‘India’ and ‘Antigua and Barbuda’, an extradition application has been sent to the Government of Antigua and Barbuda for the extradition of Mr. Mehul Choksi under the UN Conventions viz., the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC) and the United Nations Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime (UNCTOC) through proper channel, the ED said in its chargesheet.