Choksi failed to pay Rs 4 cr rent for offices at BKC tower

Laxmi Tower at BKC, where Mehul Choksi had offices of Gitanjali Gems and other firms, brings out notice against jeweller for allegedly defaulting on rent, maintenance charge.

The money mess left behind by Mehul Choksi is getting bigger with every passing day.

In fresh trouble for the beleaguered diamond trader, the custodian of the BKC tower from where he operated his flagship companies —Gitanjali Gems Ltd, Gili India Private Ltd and Nakshatra Brand Limited — has put up a notice in the lobby, claiming that Choksi owned them around Rs 4 crore in the form of unpaid rent and maintenance. The authorities of the society also said that Choksi had taken a loan of Rs 2 crore from it and is yet to pay them. As a result, legal proceedings have been initiated against Choksi to recover the dues.

Choksi ran the offices of his flagship brands at Laxmi Tower in BKC, Bandra East. The building is located just behind the Bharat Diamond Bourse.

Laxmi Finance and Leasing Companies Commercial Premises Co-Operative Society Limited is in-charge of the maintenance of the building and has its registered office in the same tower. After the Rs 11,400 crore Punjab National Bank scam came out in the open, the society apparently figured out that Choksi owed crores of rupees to them as well.

“Choksi ran four offices from Laxmi Tower. In B Wing, he had rented two premises on the first and third floors. In A Wing, he had offices of Gitanjali Gems on the third and seventh floors,” said Viraj Angre, supervisor of the building.

According to the notice pasted in the lobby, Decent Securities and Finance Private Limited, a company ran by Choksi, owed Laxmi Finance Rs 1,11,35,980 in the form of rent and maintenance fee. The society will also get Rs 79,38,170 from Decent Investments and Finance Private Limited; Rs 1,14,08,702 from Eurekha Finstock Pvt Ltd and Rs 82,52,901 from NJ Finstock Private Limited, the notice said.

All these companies are owned by Choksi, who has fled the country.

“A maximum of dues are in form of rent and maintenance due till January 1, 2018,” said Angre, adding that the society had already started legal proceedings against Choksi for the Rs 2-crore unpaid loan.

Income Tax, Central Bureau of Investigations and Enforcement Directorate officials are regularly searching the offices, two of which have been sealed. “There are more CBI, Income Tax and ED officers visiting our building now than clients or visitors. They come and search the premises before sealing them. Most of the employees of Choksi’s firms have left their jobs,” said Angre.

Choksi’s counsel Sanjay Abbot, however, said he wasn’t aware of any such dues to Laxmi Finance.

Nirav Modi’s properties worth Rs 523 cr attached

The ED on Saturday attached Nirav Modi’s properties worth Rs 523.72 crore. “We attached 21 immovable properties under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). These are a farm house in Alibaug, a solar power plant, 135-acre land in Ahmednagar besides residence and office properties in Mumbai and Pune,” said an ED official.

CBI examines senior officials of PNB

The CBI on Saturday examined PNB’s Managing Director and CEO Sunil Mehta and its Executive Director KV Barhmaji Roa in connection with the Rs 11,400 crore scam. The examination is focused only on understanding how the crime was detected by the bank and other procedural issues like how the bank operated and any violations. The officials are not treated as accused.

MEA revokes passports

Meanwhile, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Saturday revoked the passports of Mehul Choksi and Nirav Modi. The passports were earlier temporarily suspended. On the advice of the ED, the ministry had suspended the validity of their passports with immediate effect for a period of four weeks on February 16 and given one week’s time to them to respond.

“Since they have not responded so far, their passports have been revoked,” a ministry source said.