NEW DELHI, Nov. 25 -- In a concerted push to recover public funds siphoned off in the Rs.6,097-crore Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has handed over four attached flats in Mumbai-linked to fugitive businessman Mehul Choksi-to a court-appointed liquidator for monetisation. The properties, situated in Project Tatva, Urja - A Wing on Datthapada Road in Borivali (East), were transferred on November 21, the agency said in a statement on Monday. These residential units form part of the larger pool of properties belonging to Choksi's Gitanjali Group that have been seized and attached under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). With this step, assets worth about Rs.310 crore located across Mumbai, Kolkata and Surat have now moved into the liquidation process. According to officials aware of the matter, the move signals a more aggressive phase in the restitution process. "The aim is to ensure that banks are able to realise maximum value at the earliest, instead of allowing assets to deteriorate or stay stuck in litigation," a senior official said, requesting anonymity. He further said that Choksi, who fled India in early 2018, is accused of conspiring with associates and bank insiders to fraudulently obtain Letters of Undertaking and Foreign Letters of Credit from PNB between 2014 and 2017. "He also defaulted on loans from ICICI Bank. We are accelerating auction-ready transfers under the PMLA," said the official, cautioning that international recovery still remains "the most complicated layer. We've so far frozen assets amounting to Rs.2,565.90 crore," the official added. To overcome legal bottlenecks, the ED and banks filed a joint consent plea before the Special PMLA Court in Mumbai. The court allowed liquidators of Gitanjali Group companies to proceed with valuation and auctions, directing that sale proceeds be deposited as fixed deposits with PNB and ICICI Bank until further orders. "This is the first real chance banks have to claw back major sums," said another ED official, acknowledging that earlier recovery efforts were slower than expected. He further said that attached assets overseas - including those in Antigua and Barbuda where Choksi holds citizenship - remain a major hurdle, tied up in extradition disputes and international insolvency complexities. "Domestic auctions will move first. Foreign assets require cooperation that has not always been forthcoming," the second official noted. He further said more properties are expected to be transferred in phases as the restitution process continues....