The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday attached 41 properties of Mehul Choksi of the Gitanjali Group, worth Rs 1,217 crore, in connection with an ongoing probe into the Rs 12,600 crore Punjab National Bank fraud case.

The central probe agency issued a provisional order for attachment under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

The attached properties include 15 flats and 17 office premises in Mumbai, Hyderabad Gems SEZ in Andhra Pradesh, Shopping Mall in Kolkata, farm house in Alibaug and 231 acres of land at locations like Nasik, Nagpur, Panvel and Villupuram in Tamil Nadu.

As per TOI news report, A 170-acre park in Hyderabad’s Ranga Reddy district valued at over Rs 500 crore has also been attached.

Four flats in Borivali (east) area of the Maharashtra capital and nine others in Khemu Towers in Santacruz (east) have been attached as part of the action.

On Wednesday, a Blue Corner notice was issued against billionaire diamond jeweller Nirav Modi and his uncle Mehul Choksi of Gitanjali Group in connection with the Rs 12,600-crore Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud case, an official said.

An Income Tax department official said the Blue Corner notice — to locate, identify or obtain information on a person of interest in a criminal investigation — was issued by the Bureau of Immigration against the two which will be valid for a year starting 22 February at all ports of embarkation.

In other developments, diamond merchant Nirav Modi has refused to participate in the CBI probe in the PNB fraud case against him and Choksi.

In an e-mail sent to Nirav Modi’s official account, the CBI had asked him to join the probe as it was of paramount importance.

In response, Nirav Modi said he had to take care of businesses abroad so cannot join the investigation. After which, CBI again wrote a mail to Nirav Modi asking him to contact the High Commission of the concerned country so that the investigative agency could arrange his travel.

Meanwhile, the IT official have informed that it has attached four more properties of the Nirav Modi group which include his farm house in Alibaug of Maharashtra worth Rs 13 crore and a 5.24MW solar power plant over 135 acres of land in the same state’s Ahmednagar worth Rs 70 crore, as per the books.

Nirav Modi has been accused, along with Choksi, of defrauding the PNB of Rs 12,600 crore, with Rs 1,300 being added to the fraud case on Monday night.

Earlier, the amount stated to have been defrauded by Nirav Modi and Choksi’s companies stood at Rs 11,300 crore.

The CBI had filed the first FIR in the scam on 14 February against Nirav Modi, his wife Ami, brother Nishal, uncle Choksi and his firms Diamond R US, Solar Exports and Stellar Diamond.

The agency stated that the fraud involved an amount of around Rs 6,400 crore.

Nirav Modi, his family and Choksi left the country in early January.

The CBI filed a second FIR on 15 February for Rs 4,886.72-crore fraud against Choksi’s Gitanjali Group.

(With agency inputs)