Mehul Choksi, the fugitive diamantaire, now has a non-bailable warrant against him. A metropolitan magistrate court at Esplanade has issued a non-bailable warrant (NBW) against Choksi in connection with a ₹55.27 crore ($6.5 million) bank fraud case involving a consortium of Canara Bank and Bank of Maharashtra.

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CBI requests NBW

The warrant, issued on April 19, follows a request by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which is probing the alleged diversion and siphoning of bank funds by Bezel Jewellery (India) Private Limited, a firm linked to Choksi.

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The CBI had filed a First Information Report (FIR) in July 2022 based on a complaint by the chief general manager of Canara Bank. The complaint named Bezel Jewellery, its directors—Mehul Choksi, Chetna Jayantilal Jhaveri, Dinesh Gopaldas Bhatia, and Milind Anant Limaye—and unnamed public servants.

According to the agency, the consortium extended working capital credit of ₹30 crores from Canara Bank and ₹25 crore from Bank of Maharashtra to Bezel Jewellery for the manufacture and sale of gold and diamond-studded jewellery. However, the funds were allegedly diverted to repay long-term debts and reduce overdrafts of Gitanjali Gems Pvt Ltd, another firm associated with Choksi.

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The chargesheet alleges that on the same day the loan was sanctioned, ₹10 crores from Canara Bank was diverted to the parent company as repayment of a ₹18 crore loan—without conducting any business activity as declared under the loan terms. The firm also reportedly failed to route business transactions through the Canara Bank account.

On April 17, the special CBI court transferred the case to the magistrate court, ruling that charges under the Prevention of Corruption Act could not be sustained since no public servant was named in the charge sheet. Two days later, the magistrate issued the NBW against Choksi, who was recently detained in Belgium.

Choksi, already facing extradition proceedings in other cases related to the Punjab National Bank fraud, remains a wanted fugitive in India.