Congress leader Shaktisinh Gohil on Friday alleged that Gitanjali Gems Ltd promoter Mehul Choksi along with diamond jeweller Nirav Modi not only defrauded Indian banks of ₹21,306 crore, but also duped citizens of more than ₹5,000 crore through unethical business practises.

Addressing a press conference in Delhi, Gohil alleged that Gitanjali Gems Limited, which is owned by Mehul Choksi, floated three jewellery investment schemes including Shagun, Swarna Mangal Labh (SML) and Swarna Mangal Kalash to dupe common people. “Modus operandi of the scheme was that an ordinary person, seeking to buy jewellery as also to earn a return on investment, was required to pay 11 instalments of a specified amount. In return, Gitanjali group offered to pay the 12th instalment as free. Tenure of these instalments could be 12 months, 24 months or 36 months. At the end of the tenure, the amount so accumulated could be redeemed for jewellery with additional bonus of up to 50%,” Gohil said, describing the scheme as "Jan Dhan Loot Yojna."

"In most of the cases, neither was the instalment paid nor the jewellery given or amount returned. Consequently, a large number of police complaints were filed in Gujarat by way of affidavits in September 2015," he said, and released four such affidavits on the occasion.