As fraudster Mehul Choksi remains at large, SEBI sends ₹5.35 crore notice to the fugitive

Along with Nirav Modi and Vijay Mallya, Mehul Choksi is one of the most widely known economic offenders who have fled the country. He has been living in Antigua and Barbuda ever since he became a fugitive in 2018, after siphoning off Rs 13,000 crore, and the country's High Court has ruled against his removal from the island.

In the latest action against Choksi, the Securities and Exchanges Board of India (SEBI) has sent a notice instructing him to pay Rs 5.35 crore for fraudulently trading shares of Gitanjali Gems.

Penalty for failing to pay fine

The notice came after Choksi's failure to pay a fine imposed on him by the market regulator, and includes the cost of recovery as well as interest.

If he doesn't pay the amount, Choksi's bank accounts will be attached along with his moveable and immoveable assets, and he will face arrest.

The Rs 5 crore fine he has failed to pay was slapped on him back in 2022, when SEBI had barred him from trading.

Mehul Choksi was the Chairman and Managing Director of Gitanjali Gems, and the uncle of fellow absconder Nirav Modi, with whom he defrauded Punjab National Bank of more than Rs 14,000 crore.