10 March,2018 08:37 AM IST | Mumbai | Rahul Mahajani
Mehul Choksi
Officers of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) conducted searches of flats in Kalina belonging to the Gitanjali Group. These were either given as residential accommodation to those working in the Group's diamond and jewellery polishing units or themselves used as units for the same.
Officers confirmed that the agency had conducted searches in the city and in Chennai in connection with the money-laundering probe involving Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi. The CBI has filed two separate FIRs against Nirav and Choksi for cheating, conspiracy and other relevant sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act.
Sources said the searches were carried out based on the information given by some of the arrested accused who are currently in CBI custody. Apart from this, several employees are helping the different agencies probing the cases against Nirav and Choksi.
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A 'significant arrest'
The CBI recently arrested Vipul Chitalia, vice president of Gitanjali Group of companies (banking operations), from the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport after he arrived from Bangkok. Officers said he is one of the masterminds of the money-laundering scam and was directly in touch with Choksi. According to officers, Chitalia prepared the documents for acquiring letters of undertaking and foreign letters of credit. Calling it a significant arrest, the CBI has described him as the brain behind the conspiracy along with Choksi.
Inside information
Chitalia's questioning is likely to reveal a lot of inside information about the operations of the Group, and officers indicated that more such searches are likely to be done in the near future. The CBI as well as the ED have seized a number of documents, servers, jewellery and other material of the Choksi group and are analysing the same.
Also Read: PNB fraud: Blue Corner notice issued against Nirav Modi, Mehul Choksi
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