New Delhi, October 22: Reiterating the quid pro quo charge against Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, Congress president Rahul Gandhi alleged that the Centre allowed loan-fraud accused Mehul Choksi to flee as Jaitley's daughter was on the diamantaire's "payroll".

Choksi was allegedly a client of legal firm Jaitley and Associates, whose operations pro-actively involve Sonali Jaitley, the daughter of the Finance Minister. Antigua Assures India it will Extradite Mehul Choksi.

According to the Congress, the firm was paid a fee of Rs 24 lakh by Choksi in December 2017 -- a month before he went absconding. The amount was returned to the jeweller shortly after he left the nation, the party further alleged.

In the tweet below, Rahul Gandhi had shared the account number through which the money was allegedly transacted back to Choksi's account. LatestLY is not sure about the authenticity of the information provided by the Congress chief:

Choksi, along with his diamantaire nephew Nirav Modi, is accused of defrauding the Punjab National Bank to the tune of Rs 13,500 crores.

The alleged scam came to light in the last week of January, when the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) filed an FIR. However, Mehul, Choksi and their family members had left the nation nearly two weeks before the official complaint was launched.

Against Choksi, the Mumbai-based Special ED Court has issued a non-bailable warrant. His properties, worth nearly Rs 600 crores, have been attached by the Enforcement Directorate.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Oct 22, 2018 06:57 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).