Mehul Choksi didn't complete relinquishing Indian citizenship; processes weren't followed

Trouble continues to mount for fugitive ex-diamantaire Mehul Choksi as it has now been learnt that he has not completed relinquishing his Indian citizenship, as per sources. Mehul Choksi, who for the moment is believed to have Antiguan citizenship, is currently fighting deportation to India, was found in Dominica after he allegedly went missing from Jolly Harbour in Antigua on May 23. The update on Mehul Choksi's citizenship comes after Antigua and Barbuda PM Gaston Browne's notice dated October 14, 2019, seeking to deprive Choksi of his citizenship, came to light. 

Sources informed that Mehul Choksi had failed to submit his Indian passport at the nearest embassy or High Commission as per the rules. A renunciation certificate is then issued after due checks from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) following which the citizenship is considered relinquished. However, sources informed that the due processes were not followed in Mehul Choksi's case.

Antigua PM backs Mehul Choksi's deportation 

Antiguan Prime Minister Gaston Browne backed Mehul Choksi's direct deportation to India urging for his alleged 'abduction' to be treated separately from his extradition. In a statement to Republic TV's Executive Editor Niranjan Narayanaswamy, PM Gaston Browne alleged the fugitive diamond merchant had attempted to conspire against his government along with the Opposition party, revealing that Mehul Choksi had changed his lawyer to a well-known member of the UPP given the protection that the Opposition party had offered in exchange for his campaign funding.

"It’s a red herring. Choksi’s changed his lawyer to a well-known member of the UPP; former attorney general under the UPP, Justin Simon. We have it on reliable authority that the UPP had promised Choksi protection, for campaign funding. That is why they are so vehement, that he should not be deported from Dominica to India, but back to Antigua where he could continue to hide behind the constitutional protections of citizenship," Antigua PM Gaston Browne stated. 

Browne revealed that instead of subjecting himself to an inquiry, Choksi had attempted to use Courts to stay the revocation of his citizenship. He also cited the order that he had written in 2019 to deprive Choksi of his citizenship which accused him of 'wilful concealment of facts' and 'false representation' to obtain the citizenship in the first place. Here is the 2019 order: 

CBI, ED officials arrive in Dominica

Mehul Choksi is under the scanner of both the Central Bureau of Investigation and the Enforcement Directorate. Along with his nephew Nirav Modi, he has been accused of allegedly siphoning 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 was quoted as saying that the citizenship of Mehul Choksi will be revoked and will be extradited to India once all his legal options are exhausted. An eight-member team of the CBI, the ED and the Ministry of External Affairs has reached Dominica ahead of the hearing to pursue the case for Choksi's deportation.