Country's biggest banking scam: Know how Mehul Choksi Orchestrated the ₹13,850 crore PNB scam

National News: A scam recorded in India's banking history, which created a stir in the country and abroad. Mehul Choksi, the owner of Gitanjali James, defrauded the Punjab National Bank ₹13,850 crore with the connivance of some bank officials. This conspiracy, which was cracked layer by years, was exposed when the huge amount raised with the help of fake documents and illegal guarantees was not returned. Now, after the arrest of Choksi in Belgium, this much talked -about scam is once again in the headlines - and India's investigative agencies are preparing for his return.

What is the PNB Scam?

This scam, which shook the country in early 2018, was actually a well planned banking fraud. Mehul Choksi and his nephew Nirav Modi together cheated around ₹ 13,850 crore from Punjab National Bank. In collaboration with some PNB officers, the loan was raised from foreign banks through the letter of undertaking (LOU) - without any guarantee and fixed process.

Hard work of investigative agencies

The layers of this scam opened by CBI and ED. In the investigation, the statements of Gitanjali Group's banking head Vipul Chitalia, Finance Officer (late) Deepak Kulkarni, and the then PNB official Gokulnath Shetty exposed the whole game. It turned out how a conspiracy was hatched at every level and the bank was cheated in a planned manner.

Travel from Antigua to Belgium

As soon as the scam was ink, Choksi fled Antigua and Barbuda in 2017, where he took citizenship. India started efforts to extradite his extradition, but the matter got stuck in legal screws. Meanwhile, in November 2023, he reached Belgium, where he took false information and took the residency card. Choksi's plan was to flee Switzerland on the pretext of treatment - but before that Belgium Police arrested him.

Now the next step of India's agencies?

Now Indian agencies have become fully active to bring him back to the country. Despite the removal of the Interpol Red notice, India maintained pressure, and now the result is revealed. It is believed that Choksi will be in India's jail in the coming days.

Who is Mehul Choksi?

Mehul Choksi, the owner of Gitanjali James, used to run a network of more than 4000 jewelry stores across the country. Apart from being the maternal uncle of Nirav Modi, Choksi was also the mastermind of this entire scam.