In early December, tennis star Mahesh Bhupathi and actress Lara Dutta sued Gitanjali Gems, filing an insolvency case against the company for its failure to pay them for a celebrity endorsement deal. After the news went public, Gitanjali Gems' company secretary Pankhuri Warange had at the time admitted the existence of the case, but dismissed it saying "Considering the size and stature of the Company, a claim of Rs. 25 lakhs...is not considered to have material impact".
Another red flag was the sharp reduction company promoter Mehul Choksi did in his shareholding of the company as a promoter. Choksi's shareholding has fallen from 30% in March 2016 to 22.8% in December 2017. The company turned up in the shareholding screener for promoter decreases as a result. As of now, the company secretary as well as the head of the Audit Committee S Krishnan have resigned from the company, the latter resigning while pointing out that there is no longer anyone to call a board meeting for the firm.
The CFO Chandrakant Karkare resigned after the PNB scam came to light, citing the ill health of his wife as a reason.