Mehul Choksi’s Associate Arrested in Kolkata Over PNB Fraud

The ED arrested Deepak Kulkarni, an executive of a firm linked to Mehul Choksi, in connection with the PNB fraud.

The ED arrested Deepak Kulkarni, an executive of a firm linked to fugitive jeweller Mehul Choksi, in connection with the PNB fraud case.

(Photo: ANI)

Deepak Kulkarni, an associate of Punjab National Bank fraud accused Mehul Choksi, was arrested in Kolkata late on Monday, 5 November, after he landed at the airport from Hong Kong.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrested Kulkarni in connection with its money-laundering probe in the USD 2-billion PNB fraud case, officials said.

Kulkarni was arrested under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and was expected to be produced before a court on Tuesday, the officials said, adding that the ED would seek his transit remand to take him to Mumbai, where the case was registered.

Kulkarni was linked to the overseas businesses of Choksi, one of the main accused in the case, and the ED had notified a Look-out Circular (LoC) against him, the officials said.

He was a director in a Hong Kong-based "dummy" firm linked to Choksi, an official said, adding that the ED had named him in a charge sheet filed against the fugitive jeweller earlier this year and a Mumbai court had also issued a non-bailable warrant against him.

Choksi, his nephew and diamond jeweller Nirav Modi and others are being probed under various criminal laws after the fraud came to light this year, following a complaint from the Punjab National Bank (PNB) that they allegedly cheated the nationalised bank to the tune of over Rs 13,000 crore, with the purported involvement of some of its employees.

Both Choksi and Modi are absconding since the case was registered by the ED and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).