Mehul Choksi case: Sebi rushes to clarify

Markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) never gave any clean chit report on fugitive businessman Mehul Choksi to Antigua’s citizenship-for-investment authority, a senior official said on Sunday.

The regulator is continuing with its probe into alleged violation of capital market regulations by Mehul Choksi-Nirav Modi duo and their associates including some brokers in connection with two listed firms — PNB and Gitanjali Gems, the official added.

The regulator will now also consider sending the notices for Choksi to Antigua as the absconding businessman and Gitanjali Gems promoter has been granted a citizenship there, the official said.

Last week, an Antiguan media report quoted the Caribbean country’s Citizenship by Investment Unit (CIU) as saying that Choksi was granted citizenship there last year after a background check on him got ‘no adverse report’ from Indian authorities, including police, passport office and Sebi.

As per the report, the CIU received documentation of two instances in which Sebi, in 2014 and 2017, opened investigations on a corporate entity owned by Choksi.

It further said the CIU requested updates on the status of the investigations and received documentary confirmation, issued by the Sebi, stating that in one case, the matter had been satisfactorily closed, and indicating in the other that there was not sufficient evidence to pursue the case further.

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Reacting to this, Sebi issued a statement on Friday denying the claims. “Sebi has neither received any request from the Citizenship by Investment Unit (CIU) of Antigua for updates on any investigation nor provided any such information to CIU,” it said.