Sebi issues attachment order against Mehul Choksi for non-payment of penalties
Sebi went ahead with the attachment as it believed that Choksi might dispose of funds, thus obstructing the recovery of the total dues amounting to Rs 2.10 crore.Choksi, who has been wanted in India since 2018, was arrested in Belgium in April. His arrest, which took place on April 12, was made by Belgian authorities after a request from Indian agencies like the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED).He was detained in a hospital in Belgium, where he was said to be receiving medical treatment.ABOUT PNB SCAMThe Rs 13,850-crore PNB scam involved Choksi and his nephew Nirav Modi, who is currently languishing in a jail in the UK and is soon to be extradited to India.advertisementTogether, they were able to take loans from foreign banks using Letters of Undertaking (LoUs) issued by PNB's Brady House branch in Mumbai. An LoU is a bank guarantee which allows customers to get short-term credit from overseas banks.From 2011 to 2018, Choksi, Modi and their companies used these LoUs without following the normal procedures. Some bank officials were involved and allowed the LoUs to be issued without entering them into the bank's main system. This helped the fraud go unnoticed for years.The funds, which were shown as being used for importing goods, were mostly never returned. Instead, new LoUs were taken to repay the earlier ones, and the money was used for business and personal gains.The total value of the fraud reached around Rs 13,850 crore. Out of this, Nirav Modi's companies were linked to Rs 6,498 crore and Choksi's Gitanjali Group to Rs 6,097 crore. The remaining amount includes interest and other charges.Must Watch
IN THIS STORY#Mumbai Indians
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Indian Express
5 minutes ago
- Indian Express
Govt to invite financial bids for IDBI stake sale by December: DIPAM Secretary
The government is working towards inviting financial bids for strategic stake sale in IDBI Bank by December with interested buyers having completed due diligence and data room norms, Arunish Chawla, Secretary, Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) said on Friday. The successful bidder will be announced by March 2026, he added. The long-pending stake sale process of IDBI Bank will be closely eyed as the government kickstarts the disinvestment process for the bank after being in the works for close to three years. 'Due diligence and data room protocols have been completed for all the interested parties. Also, formal consultations have been completed with qualified interested parties. We hope to invite financial bids in the third quarter of this financial year,' Chawla said, adding that once the financial bids come in and a successful bidder is selected, it will be sent to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for final 'fit and proper' clearance. The prospective buyer of IDBI Bank has already been granted security clearance by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and cleared fit and proper evaluation by the RBI. Along with the Life Insurance Corporation (LIC), the government had in October 2022, invited expression of interest (EoI) from investors for privatising IDBI Bank by selling a total of 60.72 per cent stake. This includes a 30.48 per cent stake of the Government of India and 30.24 per cent of LIC. In January 2023, it received multiple EoIs for IDBI Bank. On Friday, shares of IDBI Bank ended at Rs 90.17 on Friday, down 2.68 per cent from the previous close on the BSE. What are Centre's plans for LIC divestment? For the other major pending disinvestment proposal for LIC which also has been in the pipeline, Chawla said the government has appointed merchant bankers and legal advisors for minority stake sale in LIC, and other public sector financial institutions. 'As far as LIC is concerned, we have completed the RFP (request for proposal) process. The process for appointment of merchant bankers and legal advisors has been completed,' Chawla said. Earlier this year, in February, DIPAM had invited bids from merchant bankers and legal firms to assist the government in divesting its stake in public sector banks and listed financial institutions. As per the two RFPs (request for proposal) floated by DIPAM, the merchant bankers and legal advisors would be empanelled for a period of three years, which could be extended by one more year. 'Individual transactions can happen anytime over the next 3 years,' Chawla said. The government currently holds 96.5 per cent stake in LIC. It had sold 3.5 per cent through an initial public offering in May 2022 at a price band of Rs 902-949 a share that yielded around Rs 21,000 crore. The government needs to offload another 6.5 per cent stake in the public sector life insurer to meet the mandated 10 per cent public shareholding requirement by May 16, 2027. Banks and financial institutions need to meet the minimum 25 per cent public shareholding norm as mandated by the market regulator Sebi. Five PSU banks are yet to meet the minimum public shareholding norm. The government has set August 1, 2026 as the deadline for such non-compliant entities to reduce government holding and meet public float norms. Aanchal Magazine is Senior Assistant Editor with The Indian Express and reports on the macro economy and fiscal policy, with a special focus on economic science, labour trends, taxation and revenue metrics. With over 13 years of newsroom experience, she has also reported in detail on macroeconomic data such as trends and policy actions related to inflation, GDP growth and fiscal arithmetic. Interested in the history of her homeland, Kashmir, she likes to read about its culture and tradition in her spare time, along with trying to map the journeys of displacement from there. ... Read More
Indian Express
5 minutes ago
- Indian Express
Delay in onboarding lateral hires due to market conditions, will honour offers, TCS tells Chief Labour Commissioner
Skipping an in-person meeting with the Chief Labour Commissioner (CLC) on the delay in onboarding lateral hires and its recent layoffs, IT services company Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) instead communicated via an email Friday that it will honour all the offer letters it has issued, and that such deferments are a common industry practice, depending on project timelines. On August 1, the Chief Labour Commissioner held a meeting to discuss the recent layoff of more than 12,000 TCS workers, and a delay by the company in onboarding over 600 lateral hires. The meeting was sought by the Nascent Information Technology Employees Senate (NITES), which represents workers in the IT services sector. While a representative from the union was present, TCS skipped the meeting, NITES said in a press statement. NITES said TCS in its email to the CLC outlined that deferment was temporary, owing to prevailing market conditions, that it was attempting to keep the delay as minimum as possible, and the positions the company had offered had not been withdrawn. It also added that NITES had no locus standi to intervene in the matter. While the company reiterated its intention to eventually honour the offers, it failed to provide any clear onboarding schedule, offer compensation for the delay, or propose any support mechanism for the affected employees, many of whom remain unemployed, financially strained, and emotionally distressed, NITES said in its statement. TCS did not respond to an immediate request for comment. Last month, TCS, India's largest IT services firm, undertook the first major layoff in the Indian IT sector, slashing 2 per cent of its global workforce — roughly 12,200 jobs. Framed as a push toward building a 'future-ready generation' through 'skilling and redeployment,' the move is, in effect, a sweeping cost-cutting exercise. The axe will fall hardest on mid- and senior-level employees, signalling a tough new chapter in the industry. TCS' decision is expected to create uncertainty in the Indian IT industry, with industry experts anticipating that other major firms may follow suit. The move signals a potential shift in workforce strategies, especially as companies increasingly turn to automation and cost optimisation. As one of the sector's largest employers, TCS' actions could set a precedent, prompting similar measures across the industry and raising concerns among employees about job security and long-term career stability. Soumyarendra Barik is Special Correspondent with The Indian Express and reports on the intersection of technology, policy and society. With over five years of newsroom experience, he has reported on issues of gig workers' rights, privacy, India's prevalent digital divide and a range of other policy interventions that impact big tech companies. He once also tailed a food delivery worker for over 12 hours to quantify the amount of money they make, and the pain they go through while doing so. In his free time, he likes to nerd about watches, Formula 1 and football. ... Read More
Indian Express
5 minutes ago
- Indian Express
India's gross GST collections rise by 7.5% YoY in July to Rs 1.96 lakh crore, refunds surge 66.8% to Rs 27,147 crore
Gross Goods and Services Tax (GST) collections rose 7.5 per cent year-on-year to Rs 1.96 lakh crore in July (for sales in June), data released by the government on Friday showed. Even though the pace of growth in gross GST collections picked up to 7.5 per cent in July from 6.2 per cent, this is the second consecutive month wherein the growth rate has been in single digits and much lower after posting double-digit growth in the first two months of the ongoing financial year. Net GST collections, after accounting for refunds, took a hit by growing by just 1.7 per cent to Rs 1.69 lakh crore in July as refunds jumped sharply by 66.8 per cent, the data showed. In the previous month, net GST collections had risen 3.3 per cent. Total refunds stood at Rs 27,147 crore in July, sharply up by 66.8 per cent YoY. While domestic refunds grew 117.6 per cent YoY to Rs 16,983 crore in July, refunds for imports were up 20 per cent to Rs 10,164 crore. In June, total refunds had risen 28.4 per cent to Rs 25,491 crore, with domestic refunds rising 14.1 per cent YoY to Rs 12,643 crore, while refunds on imports rose 46.4 per cent YoY to Rs 12,848 crore. The trend of slower growth was also visible in GST collections on the imports front as they increased sequentially but the pace of year-on-year growth slowed down in July. GST collections from imports rose 9.7 per cent year-on-year to Rs 52,712 crore in July as against 11.4 per cent growth seen in June at Rs 45,690 crore. The revenue collections were better on the domestic front, with GST collections rising 6.7 per cent to Rs 1.43 lakh crore in July, up from 4.6 per cent growth at Rs 1.39 lakh crore in the previous month. What experts are saying Experts said the muted growth in net revenue is mainly due to a pickup in GST refunds. MS Mani, Partner, Deloitte India, said, 'While GST revenues for the past few months have been on an upward trajectory, the muted increase of 1.7 per cent in the net GST collections for the month and 8.4 per cent during this year can be attributed to the increased refunds. During the month, domestic refunds have more than doubled compared to the same month last year and during the current year refunds have increased by 46 per cent. This increase in refunds augers well for businesses as it indicates stability in the online refund processes and quicker refund sanctions,' he said. Abhishek Jain, indirect tax head and partner, KPMG said, 'Higher refunds on domestic supplies could be from excess tax payments, inverted duty structures, and other adjustments. The increased refunds should aid cash flows for businesses.' State-wise GST collections in July State-wise data for July showed that out of 38 states/Union territories, 20 states/UTs recorded higher growth in gross GST collections than the national average of 7.5 per cent growth rate. In absolute terms, Maharashtra was at the top with collection of Rs 30,590 crore (6 per cent growth), followed by Karnataka with collection of Rs 13,967 crore (7 per cent growth), Gujarat with collection of Rs 11,358 crore (3 per cent growth), and Tamil Nadu with Rs 11,296 crore (8 per cent growth). States/UTs which recorded a contraction in GST collections in July included: Jammu & Kashmir at Rs 599 crore (-5 per cent), Chandigarh at Rs 221 crore (-5 per cent), Manipur at Rs 43 crore (-36 per cent), Mizoram at Rs 31 crore (-21 per cent) and Jharkhand at Rs 3,040 crore (-3 per cent). The gross Central GST (CGST) — the tax levied on intra-state supplies of goods and services by the Centre — collections stood at Rs 35,470 crore, State GST (SGST) — the tax levied on intra-state supplies of goods and services by the states — collections were Rs 44,059 crore, while Integrated GST (IGST) — the tax levied on all inter-state supplies of goods and services — collections stood at Rs 1.04 lakh crore and cess at Rs 12,670 crore during the month. Aanchal Magazine is Senior Assistant Editor with The Indian Express and reports on the macro economy and fiscal policy, with a special focus on economic science, labour trends, taxation and revenue metrics. With over 13 years of newsroom experience, she has also reported in detail on macroeconomic data such as trends and policy actions related to inflation, GDP growth and fiscal arithmetic. Interested in the history of her homeland, Kashmir, she likes to read about its culture and tradition in her spare time, along with trying to map the journeys of displacement from there. ... Read More
