PNB scam: Mehul Choksi's Gitanjali Gems also drags its franchises into crisis

Three of the franchises of the Choksiowned Gitanjali Gems in Nagpur right Shirish Jaiswal claimed this family invested all their savings and took loans from banks after mortgaging their residence and commercial outlet to execute the franchise dealThe PNB scam in which Nirav Modi and his uncle Mehul Choksi are allegedly involved has not only affected their companies and staff but also their franchises Three of the franchises of the Choksiowned Gitanjali Gems in Nagpur were forced to shut downShirish Jaiswal who owned one of these franchises in Nagpur found himself facing a major financial crisis I cannot recover my dues from the diamonds that were sold to us by Gitanjali at a price higher than the prevailing market price The bank is after us to clear the monthly EMI of over Rs 3 lakh against the loan taken after mortgaging our house and property Where do I go he askedAlso read PNB scam Institute of Chartered Accountants of India issues notice to PNB Gitanjali Gems auditorsThe Jaiswals owned a bar and restaurant in Gandhiputala square but when Shirish and his younger brothers became engineers it was closed around 2011 Jaiswal was looking for an alternative The Jaiswals were connected to Gitanjali Gems which was expanding its franchise network across India Jaiswal said Soon we entered into an agreement with Mehul Choksis company and were appointed as the franchise of GitanjaliStarted the franchiseJaiswal claimed that the family had invested all their savings and taken loans from banks after mortgaging their residence and commercial outlet to execute the franchise dealEverything went well until 2014 when the company share prices started sliding downwards One day we were informed that they wanted to wind up the franchise business We agreed and asked them to clear our dues said JaiswalThe problem started when we were unable to sell the diamonds that they had supplied to us They were not accepted in the market at the price that we were quoting The market players said the diamonds were easily available for three times less price added JaiswalJaiswal claimed they had numerous meetings with the company representatives and even met Choksi requesting to clear the dues but their plea fell on deaf ears Soon they received a phone call stating that the company had decided once again to keep the franchise network alive We were asked to pay another R40 lakh which we paid as we did not want to wind up the business recalled JaiswalCM intervenesIt was in January 2017 that Jaiswal decided to register a complaint with MIDC police as Choksi was not willing to settle the dues and they had an issue with the inferior quality diamonds He cheated us and betrayed our trust We were new in the business and by the time we gained knowledge about the market we realised we were duped said JaiswalChoksi wanted us to settle the matter for half the cost that we had incurred and this was unacceptable to us My family was dependent on the income from this franchise Paying the bank EMI has just become impossible and they have threatened to seize our property he saidWhen no action was taken by the police until April 2017 Jaiswal met Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and he directed that an FIR be lodged after which the police registered it under Sections 406 criminal breach of trust 409 criminal breach of trust by public servant 420 cheating and 120 b criminal conspiracy of IPC against Mehul Choksi his company and othersStatus todayInvestigating police inspector Padmakar Devre said The accused moved the Bombay High Court for quashing the FIR registered sometime in July 2017 and the matter is pending before the court When asked the reason for not taking action until the CM intervened Devre said The complainant Shirish Jaiswal alleged that the accused were not sticking to their franchise terms and conditions and hence they had a dispute On registering the FIR we were in the process of calling some of the office bearers working with Mehul Choksi for questioning and recording their statements when the accused moved the Bombay High Court The officer said there were no arrests as the matter was still in inquiry stateOutlet rentedJaiswals outlet has now been given on rent to a mobile accessory dealer for a mere Rs 70000 per month which is not sufficient to pay the Rs 350 lakh monthly EMI to the bank towards the loan His younger brother who works for a software company supports the family financiallyRs 350 lakhThe monthly EMI he is unable to payCatch up on all the latest Mumbai news crime news current affairs and also a complete guide on Mumbai from food to things to do and events across the city here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates