Court permits auction of several assets of Choksi’s Gitanjali Gems

A special court under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) has permitted the liquidator of Gitanjali Gems Ltd, the jewellery company linked to fugitive businessman Mehul Choksi, to conduct valuation and auction of its unsecured assets, while directing that the sale proceeds be held in fixed deposits under the court’s name until the money-laundering case concludes.

- Vikrant Jha

Mehul Choksi

In an order dated November 4, special judge AV Gujarathi allowed the application of liquidator Shantanu Ray, appointed by the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) in February this year. Gitanjali Gems is one of the central entities in the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) probe into the ₹13,000-crore Punjab National Bank fraud case, in which Choksi has been declared a fugitive economic offender.