Mehul Choksi's associate arrested by ED in Kolkata

Kolkata: Deepak Kulkarni, an associate of fugitive businessman Mehul Choksi, has been arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in Kolkata upon his arrival from Hong Kong.

Kulkarni was the director of Choksi's dummy firm in Hong Kong. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and ED had earlier issued a lookout circular against him.

Earlier in September, Choksi had said that all allegations levelled against him by the ED were "false and baseless."

Calling himself



a "soft target in a small country", Choksi had said that he was undergoing media trial in connection with the alleged USD 2 billion Punjab National Bank (PNB) scam.

Choksi also held PNB responsible for misinforming the probe agencies, adding that it was unprecedented how his company came to a complete standstill without thorough investigation.

Prime accused in the PNB scam along with his nephew, Nirav Modi, Choksi is currently in Antigua. The Indian government is pressing for his extradition.