Gitanjali Gems on a falling spree; 58% investor wealth lost in a week

Gitanjali Gems, which is allegedly involved in 11,400-crore Punjab National Bank (PNB) scam, continued to face selling pressure for the seventh straight session today. The stock fell 58.5% in the past one week after the scam came to light.

The stock fell 4.93% to Rs 26.5 on the NSE today. Gitanjali Gems quoted a market capitalisation of Rs 745.50 crore on February 12, after eroding Rs 435.41 crore, the market value has come down to Rs 309.59 crore.

The bank disclosed on February 14 that it had detected fraudulent transactions a Rs 11,346-crore irregularity in relation to billionaire jeweller Nirav Modi and his uncle Mehul Choksi and the matter was referred to the law enforcement agencies.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is probing 120 shell companies allegedly linked to Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi even as Income Tax officials claimed to have found two companies linked to Nirav that received Rs 555 crore from foreign companies between 2013 and 2014.

"The agency is investigating 79 shell companies owned by the Gitanjali Group chief and 41 owned by Modi in India," an ED official told IANS on the condition of anonymity, adding that the agency is examining if the money taken from banks was diverted to these shell companies.

Citing ED officials, the IANS report said Nirav Modi, Neeshal Modi, and Mehul Choksi are directors or partners in about 100 companies registered with the Registrar of Companies in Mumbai.