Choksi files plea in PMLA court to offset bank loans

Mumbai: Absconding jeweller Mehul Choksi on Friday, through his lawyer, filed an application before a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court claiming that his company Gitanjali Gems had “trade receivables” of over '8000 crore, which was enough to repay his loans.

Choksi sought direction from the Enforcement Direc-torate (ED) to visit Antigua for his interrogation in the Punjab National Bank (PNB) scam.

The diamantaire also requested the court to allow him to appear before it via video conferencing until he was fit to travel.

Choksi on Friday filed different applications before the court, with one of them requesting the court to direct the probe agency “secure” all his assets and his firm, including the “trade receivables” that had not been attached till now.

Choksi in his plea stated that a number of his assets, including trade receivables of '8,567 crore as shown in the consolidated balance sheet of March 2017 of Gitanjali Gems, had not been attached by the probe agency till now.

Trade receivables are amounts billed by a business to its customers when it delivers goods or services.

As per Choksi’s plea, the alleged proceeds of the crime were '6,097.63 crore, so the trade receivables were sufficient to pay off the entire loan amount of the banks.

Choksi stated that he could not recover this money because his entire business had been closed down after registration of the case against him.

In another plea, Choksi requested the court to issue direction to the ED to interrogate him in Antigua till he was fit to travel back to India.

Choksi is currently staying in Antigua, a tiny sovereign island in the West Indies.

The absconder also requested the court to allow him to appear before it through video conferencing.

The Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court Judge V.C. Barde, before whom the application was filed, posted the arguments for hearing on October 10.