$1bn Debt: Gitanjali Gems Tops Defaulter List
December 24, 24
(IDEX Online) - Gitanjali Gems, the company established by fugitive diamantaire Mehul Choksi, has been named as India's biggest wilful defaulter, with unpaid bank loans of Rs 8,516 crore ($1bn).
The company once had 4,000 points of sale, and more than a 50 per cent share of India's overall organized jewelry market.
But it closed in 2018 after the Punjab National Bank (PNB) scandal broke. Choksi and his nephew Nirav Modi are suspected of an alleged $1.8 billion fraud against India's second-largest state lender, but neither has stood trial.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) put Gitanjali top of its list of 100 "can pay, won't pay" borrowers in response to a Right to Information (RTI) query filed by The Indian Express newspaper.
Choksi has yet to stand trial in India. He now lives on the Caribbean island of Dominica, after disappearing in May 2021 from his new home in Antigua, where he had taken up citizenship. He has reportedly been seen in Antwerp in recent months.
Nirav Modi remains in a British prison, where he continues his long-running legal battle against extradition.
The second biggest defaulter on the list is ABG Shipyard, with bank debts of Rs 4,684 crore ($550m).
RBI defines a wilful defaulter as a borrower or guarantor who has the means to pay but has not honored the repayment obligation by deliberate non-payment, diverting and siphoning funds, or disposed of assets.
Screengrab of Mehul Choksi courtesy NDTV.