ED Likely to Join Surat IT Raids as Hawala Links to Mehul Choksi, Gajera Brothers Emerge

Surat | Gujarat — Even as the Income Tax department raids continues on the Laxmi Diamond group and its partners at  more than 30 locations across the diamond city of Surat, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) is likely to enter into the investigation with a huge amount of money was sent from Surat to Hong Kong and Dubai through hawala transactions and money laundering linked to fugitive diamantaire Mehul Choksi and the Gajera brothers. 

The Income Tax Department suspects that Mehul Choksi, who is facing an Interpol notice and is being tried under the extradition treaty, may have given some amount to local partner diamond exporting companies before fleeing. The IT department suspects that this money was transferred to Dubai and that Vasant Gajera’s nephew Rakesh Gajera received it in Hong Kong and increased his stake by investing it in Surat’s Shanti Residences Private Limited. The directors Vasant Gajera, Ashok Gajera, Rakesh Gajera and Chuni Gajera are being questioned in this case.

In Surat, the Gajeras bought lands in the name of Shanti Residences Private Limited Company. Despite the market value of various shops in the textile market built in the name of Millennium-2 and Millennium-4, the shops in the said markets were sold at market prices of crores of rupees with the malicious intention of embezzling the company’s money. In the Millennium-2 market, only 7% of the amount was received by cheque and 93% by cash and in the Millennium-4 market, only 16.14% of the amount was received by cheque and 83.86% by cash. 

The Gajera brother sent huge amount of cash collected from the textile projects to their nephew Rakesh Gajera through hawala in Hong Kong. In return,  Rakesh Gajera’s capital was brought from abroad by money laundering in the said company. Pravin Agarwal, a partner with 43% stake reduced his stake to 4.2% by using fake signatures. 

Mehul Choksi, owner of Gitanjali Gems and an accused in the Rs 15,000-crore PNB loan fraud, is suspected by agencies of having parked funds with select diamond-exporting and real estate companies before fleeing India. Enforcement Directorate records show that a chargesheet under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) was filed in Mumbai in March 2020, in which certain firms and individuals were named as co-accused alongside Choksi.