Mehul Choksi Carefully Planned His Escape, ED Has Proof

Mehul Choksi tried desperately to sell off his property in Goa for half the price.

Mehul Choksi, who has been named in the FIR in the PNB scam, is the Managing Director of ‘Gitanjali Gems’.

(Photo Courtesy: YouTube/@Brand Capital)

Managing Director of Gitanjali Gems Mehul Choksi had been planning to escape the country for months, sources in the Enforcement Directorate (ED) reveal. During its investigation into the over Rs 12,000 crore PNB scam, the ED discovered how Choksi had been trying to sell a 7,700 square meter property in Goa for half its price.

Located on Anjuna beach, the property is said to be worth Rs 40 crore, but Choksi was willing to sell it for close to Rs 20 crore, sources said.

A potential buyer, Rajiv Saxena* (name changed), told The Quint how Choksi was desperate to sell the property. Saxena said that on 17 December, Choksi, along with two of his employees, arrived in Goa via a chopper to strike a deal. The meeting was held at the Marriot hotel, claimed Saxena.

I was introduced to Choksi through a property dealer. In the meeting at Marriot hotel, Choksi showed me the property’s papers, which looked genuine. He told me that he is ready to sell the property for Rs 25 crore. I was surprised at his offer.

Rajiv Saxena

Haste In Selling the Property Stopped Me From Purchasing it: Saxena

According to Saxena, Choksi wanted to seal the deal within a couple of days. He was even ready to accept any mode of payment.

I was surprised that he was ready to accept payment in any form. He said he is ready to accept payment in cash and cheque both. Choksi assured me that he will deposit the cheque in the bank only after I give him a go ahead to do so.

Rajiv Saxena

Saxena began to feel suspicious about the deal as he was unable to understand why Choksi, a rich diamantaire, was in such a rush to sell his property.

Saxena even questioned Choksi about his haste in trying to sell the property, but Choksi didn’t give him a clear answer.

According to Saxena, Choksi approached a few more buyers through his property broker, but was unable to close the deal with any of them.

A few days later, the property dealer again approached me. By then I had made up my mind that I don’t want to buy this property. However, instead of saying a direct no, I kept him stringing along by saying that I am ready to purchase it for Rs 22 crore. 

Rajiv Saxena

“After speaking to Choksi, the dealer got back to me saying that he is ready to sell the property for Rs 22 crore,” said Saxena.

But after this, Saxena did not hear from the dealer again, maybe because Choksi left the country in the first week of January.

I am so glad that I didn’t purchase that property. When I got to know about the Punjab National Bank scam, I informed the investigating agency about this. 

Rajiv Saxena

So far the ED has attached 21 properties of Mehul Choksi, including the one in Goa. According to ED sources, Choksi and Nirav Modi’s family had been planning to run from the country for months as they were aware they will be caught.

Apart from Saxena, ED has also spoken to people who have traded with Modi and Choksi’s companies.

Till now the agencies have not been able to locate Nirav Modi or Mehul Choksi. Several emails have been exchanged between the duo and the investigating agencies, but no one knows of their whereabouts.

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