Mehul Choksi abucted? Antigua Police rubbishes claim, says he went to Dominica by boat

In the latest development, the Antigua Police Commissioner has slammed fugitive ex-diamantaire Mehul Choksi's advocate for alleging that he was forcefully abducted, and refuted such reports citing that no such information was received, as per Antiguan media reports. Taking on Mehul Choksi's counsel over the kidnapping allegation, Antigua Police Commissioner Atlee Rodney said that assertions were being made by the former without any evidence and that even the Dominican Police did not believe the 'abduction theory'. Revealing that Mehul Choksi used a boat to get to Dominica on May 23, the Antigua Police Commissioner ruled out the involvement of any of his personnel in the matter while speaking to local media in Antigua. 

Mehul Choksi's lawyer claims he was tortured

Speaking exclusively to Republic TV, advocate Vijay Aggarwal claimed that the truth regarding the torture faced by his client Mehul Choksi will be out in the next 12 hours. Aggarwal mentioned, "He reached Dominica on Sunday. On Monday, he was taken to the police station. And the news was broken to the world on Wednesday. Because of the court proceedings, now Dominica can't take them wherever they want and the truth has a very strange way of coming out of the closet". Earlier, the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court had temporarily stayed the repatriation of the fugitive diamantaire and allowed him access to lawyers. 

The PNB scam accused's lawyer stated, "The court has also ordered that Mehul Choksi's affidavit should be put on record. I told you previously that lawyer had just two-minute access to Mr.Choksi in which he narrated his horrifying tale. I will be getting all this and in the next 24 hours, we will get to know all the details. I will get access to Mr.Choksi's affidavit also."

Indian High Commissioner to visit Dominica seeking Mehul Choksi's extradition

The government of Dominica on Thursday confirmed that its law enforcement personnel had detained fugitive ex-diamantaire, Mehul Choksi, upon his illegal entry into the country, and then, India confirmed it is sending its High-Commissioner based in Trinidad & Tobago to Dominica on June 3 to seek his extradition. Issuing a statement on Thursday, the Dominican govt said that a red alert notice has been issued for Mehul Choksi by Interpol and that their Ministry of National Security & Home Affairs was in touch with the Antiguan authorities to ascertain facts about Choksi's citizenship. The statement noted that Mehul Choksi would be repatriated to Antigua after they received information that they have sought. Arun Kumar Sahu, High Commissioner of India based in Trinidad and Tobago will travel to Dominica and a meeting between the Governments of Dominica and India would most likely be held on coming Thursday. All matters related to Indians in Dominica are subject to the High Commissioner of India based in Port of Spain, Trinidad.

Earlier on Thursday, sources informed that the Indian government is in touch with both Antigua & Barbuda and the Dominican government over the matter. This comes after the Prime Minister of Antigua & Barbuda, Gaston Browne, told Republic that he had asked Dominica to deport Choksi directly back to India as a persona-non-grata.

Mehul Choksi faces the prospect of extradition

Mehul Choksi is under the scanner of both the Central Bureau of Investigation and the Enforcement Directorate. Along with his nephew Nirav Modi, he allegedly siphoned off Rs 13,500 crore of public money from the Punjab National Bank (PNB), using letters of undertaking. Owner of the Gitanjali group, a retail jewellery company, Choksi secured the citizenship of Antigua and Barbuda in November 2017 under the aegis of the Citizenship by Investment Programme and fled to the island nation in the first week of January 2018.

India formally sought Choksi's extradition in August 2018 underlining the principle of reciprocity, the principle of dual criminality, and the United Nations Convention against Corruption to which both countries are signatories. In 2019, Antigua and Barbuda PM Gaston Browne said that Mehul Choksi will be revoked and will be extradited to India once all his legal options are exhausted. The current legal status of the fugitive diamantaire is shrouded in mystery as Aggarwal has stressed that the PNB scam accused remains a citizen of Antigua and Barbuda.