NEW DELHI: Fugitive businessman Mehul Choksi has not paid maintenance charges of about Rs 63 lakh for his flat at Gokul Apartments in Malabar Hill, Mumbai, news agency ANI reported, quoting a society member on Monday.
The member told ANI that Choksi owns three units in the building – on the 9th, 10th, and 11th floors – and has not paid maintenance for more than seven years.
“He has seven years of maintenance due. He has three units– 9th, 10th, and 11th floors. The 11th floor is a terrace, he has illegally occupied it. There are maintenance dues of around Rs 63 lakh without interest. In 2020, our condominium had renovation work done, the cost per unit came to Rs 30-35 lakh, so if you add the cost of three units, it will be around Rs 95 lakh,” the society member was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
“Big trees have started growing in the flat and the roots will definitely damage the structural integrity of the building. This is an additional burden that we have to bear without any fault of ours. We have faith in the legal system of India, ED officials, and we hope we will get the dues,” he added.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) had earlier attached the property.
Earlier on Monday, the Belgian Federal Public Service of Justice confirmed that Mehul Choksi was arrested on April 12 and is currently in detention. The department also said that India has submitted a request for his extradition.
At least two open-ended arrest warrants, issued by a special court in Mumbai in 2018 and 2021, have been shared by the Indian agencies with their Belgian counterparts as part of the extradition request, the sources said.
Choksi, aged 65, left India on January 2, 2018. He is wanted by the CBI and the ED in connection with a case involving alleged fraud of Rs 13,850 crore at Punjab National Bank (PNB). Hisnephew, Nirav Modi is also accused in the same case.
According to investigators, between 2014 and 2017, Choksi worked with his associates and some PNB officials to obtain letters of undertaking (LoU) and foreign letters of credit fraudulently, causing a loss of Rs 6,097.63 crore to the bank.
The ED has attached or seized assets worth Rs 2,565.90 crore in the case against Choksi and the court has allowed “monetisation” of all these properties.
