Gitanjali Gems stock hits fresh 52-week low after Mehul Choksi rules out early return to India

The Gitanjali Gems stock fell for the seventeenth straight session on Friday a day after its owner Mehul Choksi said in a seven-page letter that it was impossible for him to return to India and join the Rs 12,600-crore fraud investigation due to the suspension of his passport and ill-health.

At 11:22 am, the stock fell 4.82% to its fresh 52-week low of 15.80 level on BSE.

On the NSE, the stock was trading 4.83% lower at 15.75 level.

The stock is down as much as 74.86 per cent since February 14, the day the PNB fraud came to light.

The stock opened at 15.80 level . It closed at 16.60 level on Thursday.

On Thursday, the CBI sent fresh summons to billionaire jeweller Nirav Modi and his uncle Mehul Choksi for their alleged involvement in the PNB fraud.

Modi and Choksi, promoter of Gitanjali Group, are accused in the fraudulent issuance of Letters of Undertaking (LoUs) and Letters of Credit (LCs) worth $2 billion (approximately Rs 12,636 crore) by the Punjab National Bank.

On NSE, the stock fell to a 52-week low of Rs 15.75.

The agency had sent three summonses on February 19, 23 and 28 asking them to join the probe at the earliest. They were asked to appear on March 7.

Choksi, in a seven-page letter which was released by his lawyer, has said it is impossible for him to return to India and join the investigation due to the suspension of his passport and ill-health.

In a detailed e-mail reply to the CBI's notice seeking his appearance, Choksi said his passport has been suspended by the authorities and he was undergoing medical treatment. He said that on February 16, he received an e-mail from the passport office which stated that his travel document has been suspended due to the reason 'security threat to India'.