<p>The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has filed a charge sheet against fugitive jeweller Mehul Choksi for running a racket to cheat customers by dealing in "lab-grown diamonds," according to a <a href="https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/ed-files-new-charge-sheet-to-aid-mehul-choksi-s-extradition/story-gFGXZyKikbi0QxKc2PcQqO.html" target="_blank">report </a>by <em>Hindustan Times</em>.</p>.<p>Choksi is the key accused in the multi-crore Punjab National bank <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/tag/pnb-scam" target="_blank">(PNB) fraud</a> case.</p>.<p>In the past year, several company executives based in the US, UAE, Hong Kong, India revealed that “lab-grown diamonds” were sold by Choksi’s companies by falsely certifying them as natural diamonds.</p>.<p>The charge sheet filed by the ED, relying on these statements, aims to bolster India’s request to extradite Choksi from Antigua and Barbuda. He has reportedly became a citizen of Antigua and Barbuda under a citizenship programme.</p>.<p>The factory for lab-grown diamonds was run in Surat, the report said. The charge sheet alleges that large-scale production took place at the factory and it was personally monitored by Choksi.</p>.<p>The report added that the diamonds produced at the lab appeared similar in size, quality and colour when compared to natural diamonds.</p>.<p>In March 2019, a probe ordered by a US bankruptcy court also alleged that Choksi’s US firm Samuels Jewelers Inc, owned by Gitanjali Gems Ltd, had sold “lab-grown diamonds”.</p>.<p>The US probe forensic report also found that Samuels Jewelers received about Rs 139 crore from the fraudulent Letters of Undertaking (LoUs) issued to Gitanjali by PNB, according to a report by <em>The Indian Express</em>. The money was received through a “sham royalty agreement”, it added.</p>.<p>A former senior employee of Gitanjali Gems Ltd Santosh Srivastava told <em>Moneycontrol</em> last year that the “lab-produced diamonds were sold at a premium in the name of brand value, cuts and certifications that were given out. The certifications too were forged. A diamond that claimed to be of Grade A in a purchase made was actually Grade C.”</p>.<p>“The diamonds that were passed as precious and rare and were actually lab-produced coasted only 5-10 percent of the cost it was sold at,” he added.</p>.<p>ED had filed a charge sheet in 2018 underlining Choksi’s role in the PNB fraud case.</p>
<p>The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has filed a charge sheet against fugitive jeweller Mehul Choksi for running a racket to cheat customers by dealing in "lab-grown diamonds," according to a <a href="https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/ed-files-new-charge-sheet-to-aid-mehul-choksi-s-extradition/story-gFGXZyKikbi0QxKc2PcQqO.html" target="_blank">report </a>by <em>Hindustan Times</em>.</p>.<p>Choksi is the key accused in the multi-crore Punjab National bank <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/tag/pnb-scam" target="_blank">(PNB) fraud</a> case.</p>.<p>In the past year, several company executives based in the US, UAE, Hong Kong, India revealed that “lab-grown diamonds” were sold by Choksi’s companies by falsely certifying them as natural diamonds.</p>.<p>The charge sheet filed by the ED, relying on these statements, aims to bolster India’s request to extradite Choksi from Antigua and Barbuda. He has reportedly became a citizen of Antigua and Barbuda under a citizenship programme.</p>.<p>The factory for lab-grown diamonds was run in Surat, the report said. The charge sheet alleges that large-scale production took place at the factory and it was personally monitored by Choksi.</p>.<p>The report added that the diamonds produced at the lab appeared similar in size, quality and colour when compared to natural diamonds.</p>.<p>In March 2019, a probe ordered by a US bankruptcy court also alleged that Choksi’s US firm Samuels Jewelers Inc, owned by Gitanjali Gems Ltd, had sold “lab-grown diamonds”.</p>.<p>The US probe forensic report also found that Samuels Jewelers received about Rs 139 crore from the fraudulent Letters of Undertaking (LoUs) issued to Gitanjali by PNB, according to a report by <em>The Indian Express</em>. The money was received through a “sham royalty agreement”, it added.</p>.<p>A former senior employee of Gitanjali Gems Ltd Santosh Srivastava told <em>Moneycontrol</em> last year that the “lab-produced diamonds were sold at a premium in the name of brand value, cuts and certifications that were given out. The certifications too were forged. A diamond that claimed to be of Grade A in a purchase made was actually Grade C.”</p>.<p>“The diamonds that were passed as precious and rare and were actually lab-produced coasted only 5-10 percent of the cost it was sold at,” he added.</p>.<p>ED had filed a charge sheet in 2018 underlining Choksi’s role in the PNB fraud case.</p>
