SEBI hits back at Antigua: Says it neither recieved any inquiries about Mehul Choksi, nor did it give a 'clean chit'

Market regulator SEBI (Securities and Exchange Board of India) has dismissed the claim of the Antigua CIU (Citizenship by Investment) under which absconding fraud-accused Mehul Choksi was granted citizenship of Antigua, by stating that it didn't receive any request seeking updates on investigations against him. 

Here is SEBI 's full statement:

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Clarification on news item

This is with reference to a news item published in a section of media headlined “MEA, SEBI provided positive report on Mehul Choksi in 2017, says Antigua’s CIU”. The news item, inter-alia, states that “According to the Antiguan authorities, even SEBI provided a positive report when asked about Mehul Choksi. The CIU received documentation of two instances in which the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), in 2014 and 2017, opened investigations on a corporate entity owned by Choksi. We requested updates on the status of the investigations and received documentary confirmation, issued by the SEBI stating that in one case, the matter had been satisfactorily closed, and indicating in the other that there is not sufficient evidence to pursue the matter further.”

In this connection, it is clarified as follows:

“SEBI has neither received any request from the Citizenship by Investment Unit (CIU) of Antigua for updates on any investigation nor provided any such information to CIU”.

Mumbai

August 3, 2018

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Earlier, Antigua had issued the following statement on Mehul Choksi:

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Mehul Choksi’s application was received by the CIU in May 2017 with the necessary documentary requirements including a police clearance certificate as required by section 5 (2) (b) of the Antigua and Barbuda Citizenship By Investment Act 2013.

The said police clearance certificate from the Government of India, Ministry of External Affairs Regional Passport Office, Mumbai, certified that there was no adverse information against Mr. Mehul Chinubbhai Choksi which would “render him ineligible for grant of travel facilities including visa for Antigua and Barbuda.

As with all applications submitted to the CIU, Mr. Choksi’s application was subjected to stringent background checks which included open source internet checks, Thompson Reuters World-Check, queries of various sanctions lists, engagement with regional and international intelligence agencies to include INTERPOL as well as contracted 3rdParty due diligence providers. It was only after the results of all of these checks had been received and assessed that a final decision was taken on the application. In no instance was any derogatory information disclosed on the applicant.

(ANTIGUA ASKED SEBI)

In the conduct of its due diligence, the CIU received documentation of two instances in which the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), in 2014 and 2017, opened investigations on a corporate entity owned by Mr. Choksi.  We requested updates on the status of the investigations and received documentary confirmation, issued by the SEBI stating that in one case, the matter had been satisfactorily closed, and indicating in the other that there is not sufficient evidence to pursue the matter further.  

None of these matters is the subject of the current warrants issued by Central Bureau of Investigations (CBI) in connection with the Punjab National Bank. It was also observed that 2016 Non-bailable Warrant was discontinued in October 2016.

The CIU’s keen review of online reports on this matter note that India’s CBI has indicated that INTERPOL had not made direct contact with them requesting information on Mr. Choksi.  The CIU maintains, that this comment notwithstanding, that its background investigations do in fact include INTERPOL.  Were there an active warrant for Mr. Choksi at the time his citizenship application was being processed, this information should have already been made available to INTERPOL, a notification of which would have been readily accessible by the CIU and its due diligence partners.  Further, the warrant should have formed a part of the criminal records database in India and therefore declared in the police clearance certificate issued by Ministry of External Affairs.

The CIU’s investigations revealed that notice of the current investigation was first issued by Indian authorities to law enforcement on 31stJanuary 2018.   As such, these matters emerged well after the background vetting process which would have resulted in the August 2017 approval of Mr. Choksi’s application and his subsequent registration as a citizen in November 2017.

The CIU assures the public that it took all reasonable steps to ensure that Mr. Choksi was a fit and proper candidate for the grant of citizenship as allowed under the Antigua and Barbuda Citizenship By Investment Act.

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Ever since Antigua's Prime Minister Gaston Browne revealed exclusively to Republic TV that Mehul Choksi had been granted citizenship in Antigua and Barbuda, the country has maintained that during the due diligence that was conducted in the application process, nothing "derogatory" had been found, nor had the requisite notices been received from Indian agencies - something that hasn't been disputed, till this particular claim of SEBI allegedly being asked about two investigations and allegedly (again) "stating that in one case, the matter had been satisfactorily closed, and indicating in the other that there is not sufficient evidence to pursue the matter further."

REPUBLIC TV'S EXCLUSIVE NEWSBREAKS ON CHOKSI

Republic TV, over the past week, has aired a number of exclusive newsbreaks, along with Antiguan state-broadcaster ABS, involving top ministers in Antigua. Perhaps the biggest of these was the Antiguan Foreign Minister stating that his country was prepared to cooperate with India over Choksi's extradition after the 'discovery' of a deportation treaty with India, and the shocking revelation from Mehul Choksi's Antiguan lawyer that Choksi had been in a "loose alliance" with the Congress party.