Sebi orders attachment of bank, demat accounts of Mehul Choksi and Gitanjali Gems after they failed to pay fine imposed on them.
Markets regulator Sebi has ordered the attachment of bank accounts and shares and mutual fund holdings of absconding diamantaire Mehul Choksi to recover dues totalling Rs 2.1 crore in a case of violation of insider trading rules in the shares of Gitanjali Gems.
Rogers operates under brand names Rogers Jewelers and Andrews Jewelers.
Gitanjali gems successfully completed its take over of Nakshatra Diamonds. Gitanjali now plans to make it a jewellery and lifestyle brand.
"To support our massive retail activities, we plan to have our own textile brands - three women's wear brands, one men's wear and one kid's wear - in the next six months," says Deepak Tulsian, vice president, retail, of Gitanjali Gems.
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Trading activities of 26 entities, including Gitanjali Gems promoter Mehul Choksi and firms linked to Prime Broking, were suspended on Thursday by market regulator Sebi and the bourses, as part of a probe into suspected market manipulations.
Gitanjali Gems is foraying into the business of providing gold loans and safe deposits vaults. The company has also acquired Trinity Watch Co and Renaissance Retail Ventures for undisclosed sums. It has also formed a subsidiary, Mohar Jewels. It will soon launch the fashion retail format through its retail subsidiary Gitanjali Lifestyle. The company has tied-up with three fashion designers to introduce fashion apparels and private labels and will also open exclusive stores.
Leading diamond jewellery manufacturer and retailer Gitanjali Gems Ltd is entering into real estate business through its maiden residential project at Borivli, in Mumbai's western suburb.
The Enforcement Directorate has attached assets worth over Rs 14 crore belonging to the Gitanjali Group and its promoter and jeweller Mehul Choksi, one of the prime accused in the alleged over Rs 13,000 crore PNB loan fraud case. The properties attached, under the anti-money laundering law, include a flat measuring 1,460 sq feet located at O2 Tower in Goregaon area of Mumbai, gold and platinum jewellery, diamond stones, necklaces made of silver and pearls, watches and a Mercedes Benz car, the ED said in a statement. A provisional order for attachment has been issued under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) for the assets worth a total Rs 14.45 crore that are in the name of Gitanjali Group of companies and its director Mehul Choksi, it said.
Mumbai-based diamond processing and jewellery manufacturer Gitanjali Gems aims to become a global retailer. Lately, the Rs 3,500-crore (Rs 35 billion) company has been in the news for international acquisitions, consolidation in the domestic market and diversification in lifestyle retailing.
In one of the first global acquisitions by an Indian firm in the retail space, gems and jewellery major Gitanjali Gems has bought US-based Samuels Jewellers for Rs 200 crore
Following the arrest of fugitive businessman Mehul Choksi by Belgian authorities on Saturday, Vaibhav Khuraniya, one of the complainants in a fraud case against Choksi, said that it may not be easy to bring him back to India due to legal complexities involved in extradition.
Once a stock market darling, the jewellery chain heads for liquidation.
India is working closely with Belgium to extradite fugitive diamantaire Mehul Choksi, who was arrested in Antwerp on Saturday based on a formal request from the Indian government. Choksi is wanted by Indian probe agencies in connection with a Rs 13,500-crore bank loan fraud case involving the Punjab National Bank (PNB). His nephew, Nirav Modi, is also facing extradition proceedings in the UK.
Absconding diamond jeweller Mehul Choksi has been detained in Belgium following an extradition request by Indian probe agencies for his alleged involvement in the Rs 13,000 crore PNB bank loan 'fraud' case, official sources said Monday. The action against the diamantaire was taken on Saturday.
Sebi on Thursday sent a notice to fugitive businessman Mehul Choksi asking him to pay Rs 5.35 crore in a case pertaining to fraudulent trading in the shares of Gitanjali Gems Ltd and warned of arrest and attachment of assets as well as bank accounts if he fails to make the payment within 15 days. The demand notice came after Choksi failed to pay a fine imposed on him by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi). Choksi, who was the chairman and managing director as well as part of promoter group of Gitanjali Gems, is the maternal uncle of Nirav Modi.
Markets regulator Sebi has ordered the attachment of bank accounts and shares and mutual fund holdings of fugitive businessman Mehul Choksi to recover dues totalling Rs 5.35 crore. The latest decision has been taken after Choksi failed to pay the fine imposed on him in October 2022 by Sebi in a case pertaining to indulging in fraudulent trading in the shares of Gitanjali Gems Ltd. Choksi, who was the chairman and managing director as well as part of the promoter group of Gitanjali Gems, is the maternal uncle of Nirav Modi, both of whom are facing charges of defrauding state-owned Punjab National Bank (PNB) of more than Rs 14,000 crore.
'We want the government to provide job security for all these workers,' says E S N Reddy, district general secretary of CITU.
Sebi has barred fugitive businessman Mehul Choksi and one Rakesh Girdharlal Gajera from the capital markets for one year and levied a fine totalling Rs 2.5 crore on them for violating insider trading rules in the matter of Gitanjali Gems. In addition, they have been restrained from buying, selling or otherwise dealing in securities of Gitanjali Gems Ltd (GGL) for a period of two years. Also, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has directed Gajera to disgorge a sum of Rs 15.82 crore.
The diamantaire's counsel said there is a vigilance manual circular that the consortium can lodge only one FIR. Each consortium member cannot lodge separate FIRs, he said.
The ED has filed a fresh chargesheet against absconding jeweller Mehul Choksi, his wife Priti and others under the anti-money laundering law in connection with the over Rs 13,000-crore PNB loan fraud case, officials said on Monday. This is the first prosecution complaint filed by the central agency against Choksi's wife Priti Pradyotkumar Kothari. She has been charged by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) with "helping her husband in layering of the proceeds of crime".
Gitanjali Gems and Firestar Diamonds together account for 5.8 per cent of the diamond and jewellery trade in India.
Gitanjali Gems plans to hive off various businesses.
All these companies were provided loans by PNB as part of consortium lending.
The Delhi high court on Friday dismissed a plea by Mehul Choksi, an accused in the nearly USD 2 billion PNB scam, to conduct pre-screening of Netflix documentary Bad Boy Billionaires.
Gitanjali Gems is close to acquiring a US-based jewellery retail chain with sales of about $100 million. The deal, if it goes through, would be the company's second acquisition in the world's largest jewellery market. Though the deal size and name of the company could not be ascertained, sources said that the acquisition is expected to be completed in 30 days.
The agency on Friday also carried out searches on the premises of the Gitanjali Group at 20 places in Mumbai, Pune, Surat, Jaipur, Hyderabad and Coimbatore.
PNB issued a formal appointment letter to Belgium-based consultancy firm BDO
ICAI intends to investigate the chartered accountants of PNB but the bank allegedly refuses to give the information sought.
As debts mount, Gitanjali Gems is switching from gold to diamond jewellery besides diversifying into new areas to tide over the restrictions on the gold business.
Analysts expect more downside in this sector, with Titan still the preferred bet.
The CBI has filed a fresh case against absconding diamantaire Mehul Choksi, wanted along with his nephew Nirav Modi in a loan fraud case of Rs 13,500 crore, for allegedly inflating the value of diamonds and jewellery pledged to get Rs 25 crore loan from IFCI, officials said on Monday. The CBI has booked Mehul Choksi, his company Gitanjali Gems and valuers Surajmal Lallu Bhai and Co, Narendra Jhaveri, Pradip C Shah and Shrenik Shah, they said. The central agency has acted on a complaint from Industrial Finance Corporation of India (IFCI) Ltd alleging that Choksi had approached it in 2016 seeking Rs 25 crore working capital loan for which he had pledged shares and gold and diamond jewellery.
However, Jaitley's son-in-law had earlier issued a statement stating that his law firm had returned the retainership the moment they came to know that the company was involved in a scam.
The actor had appeared in the a TV commercial for the brand along with Sidharth Malhotra.
Since most banks have tightened lending to diamond merchants and others are about to do so, many medium and small diamond dealers are approaching large players for credit facility within the industry
Sales of gold in the form of jewellery, coins and bars have risen 20-25 per cent over last year's festive season on the back of discount offers.
Glimpses from the closing day of India International Jewellery Week.
Diamond prices fell about 30 per cent last year and had recovered by almost 15 per cent this year. Further recovery is imminent by the end of this year, said Mehul Choksi, chairman of Gitanjali Gems, a leading jewellery manufacturer and retailer, on the sidelines of a seminar organised by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry in Mumbai on Monday.
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