Antigua/New Delhi: Absconding diamond merchant Mehul Choksi’s citizenship of Antigua may be revoked by the Caribbean country and he could be extradited to India after he exhausts all legal options, the country’s Prime Minister Gaston Browne was quoted as saying by a media report.
Choksi, 60, had taken nationality of Antigua and Barbuda in November, 2017 using Citizenship by Investment Program (CIP) of the twin island nation. He fled India in the first week of January last year, days before scam worth Rs 13,400 crore was detected and reported by state-run Punjab National Bank (PNB).
Choksi, promoter of Gitanjali Gems, and his nephew Nirav Modi, who is currently in a London jail, are wanted by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the CBI for allegedly masterminding the biggest banking fraud of India.
Prime Minister Browne said the citizenship of the billionaire diamond trader will be revoked by the Caribbean country after he exhausts all his legal options.
“His (Choksi) citizenship was processed; he got through but the reality is his citizenship will be revoked and he will be repatriated to India; so there is recourse. It’s not a case that we are trying to provide any safe harbour for criminals, for those who are involved in financial crimes,” Browne was quoted as saying Monday by the ‘Antigua Observer’.
“We have to allow for due process. He has a matter before the court and as we said to the Indian Government, criminals have fundamental rights, too, and Choksi has a right to go to court and defend his position. But I can assure you, after he has exhausted all of his legal options, he will be extradited,” Browne said.
Under the CIP, a person can take Antigua Barbuda passport on a minimum investment of USD 1,00,000 in the NDF investment fund in that country.
Meanwhile sources in New Delhi said Tuesday, “We continue to remain engaged with the Antigua and Barbuda authorities over the issue of Choksi’s extradition.”
The CBI has managed to get a ‘Red Corner Notice’ against Nirav but its application to get a similar notice from Interpol against Choksi has met a deadlock at the Lyon-based international police cooperation group.
The ED recently told the Bombay High Court that it was ready to provide an air ambulance to bring Choksi to India.
Choksi, currently based in Antigua and Barbuda, had informed the high court that he left India for medical treatment and not to avoid prosecution in the case. He said he would return to India as soon as he is medically fit to travel. He had escaped the country January 4 last year on an Indian passport and took the oath of allegiance January 15 in Antigua.
Choksi allegedly swindled Rs 7,080.86 crore while remaining was siphoned off by his nephew Nirav making it possibly the biggest banking scam in the country.
They managed to orchestrate the scam by availing credit from overseas branches of Indian banks on the basis of fraudulent guarantees in the form of Letter of Undertakings (LoU) and letters of credit issued by PNB Brady House branch in Mumbai.
The LoU instructions were issued by colluding bank employees using an international banking messaging system but these were not entered in the internal PNB system making them impossible to be monitored.
PTI