Mehul Choksi arrested in Belgium: PNB scam whistle-blower says ‘he will try to pay and escape’

Hariprasad SV, the whistleblower in the case of Mehul Choksi, has warned that the diamantaire is going to try to use his money to escape.

Earlier in the day, it was reported that Choksi had been arrested in Belgium at the request of the Indian government. He is an accused in the Rs 13,000 crore Punjab National Bank (PNB) loan ‘fraud’ case.

Hariprasad told CNN-News 18 that while his arrest in Belgium is great news, the real justice would be his punishment upon return to India and repayment of the money that he “looted”.

“This is great news, finally somebody caught him in Belgium. He will try to escape from the clutches of the law, only getting him back is not sufficient, ultimately, the money looted by him from India must be returned and the people should be paid back," said Hariprasad.

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Choksi cheated around 100 people, including him, according to Hariprasad.

“At least 100 people got cheated by him, and I am one of those. When these things happened, I reported it to various agencies, despite there being a lot of evidence, no action was taken against him, and I don’t know the reason, most people have given up," said Hariprasad.

Along with fellow accused Nirav Modi, Choksi was booked by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in 2018 for an alleged loan fraud with the PNB.

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The agencies alleged that Choksi, his firm Gitanjali Gems, and others “committed the offence of cheating against PNB in connivance with certain bank officials by fraudulently getting the LOUs (letters of undertaking) issued and got the FLCs (foreign letter of credit) enhanced without following prescribed procedure and caused a wrongful loss to the bank".

Hariprasad had filed a police complaint in the matter in Bengaluru in 2015. He followed up the complaint with letters to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) in 2016 in which he raised concerns about a major scam. He also wrote to agencies like the CBI, ED, and the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI).

Personally, Hariprasad was cheated of nearly Rs 10 crore by Gitanjali Gems, according to Hindustan Times.