PNB scam: In video from Antigua, Mehul Choksi says all allegations against him 'false, baseless'

Mehul Choksi has said all the allegations levelled against him by the Enforcement Directorate are false and baseless. He has added that the ED has attached his properties illegally.

Choksi made his comments in a pair of videos that were released by the news agency ANI on Tuesay. ANI said Choksi was responding to questions put to him by his lawyer.

Choksi and his nephew Nirav Modi are the prime accused in the over Rs 13,000 crore Punjab National Bank scam. The two are accused of scamming the money from PNB on the basis of fake Letters of Understanding.

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In the first of the videos, Choksi's lawyer tells him the "ED has accused you of setting up shell companies to route LOU (Letter of Understanding) money to offshore accounts and companies... "

Choksi replies that "all the allegations levelled by the ED are false and baseless". He adds that "they have attached my properties illegally without there being any basis of same".

In the second video, Choksi says that the the passport authorities "revoked my passport". Choksi says, as a result, he found himself stranded on Feb 16 of this year.

On February 20, he adds, he got an email from the passport office, informing him that his passport had been revoked and that he was a national security threat.

Choksi then says he replied with an email to the regional passport office in Mumbai, asking them why his passport had been suspended and how exactly he is a national security threat.

Choksi adds in the video that he never heard back from them.

Choksi and his nephew Nirav Modi fled the country in the first week of January the PNB scam broke about two weeks later.

Choksi is currently holed up in Antigua. He bought himself citizenship to the Caribbean country on January 15.