New Delhi | Fugitive jeweller Mehul Choksi who is allegedly involved in a scam worth of Rs. 13000 crores around the Punjab National Bank, who left India a year ago for treatment in the USA, has given up his Indian passport to the Antiguan government in order to avoid extradition.
Mehul Choksi, along with his nephew Nirav Modi are both wanted in a probe of the fraud by both ED and CID. The foreign ministry has been trying to extradite Choksi to India, who is currently living in Antigua. However the absence of a bilateral extradition pact has made the process slow. But according to an Antiguan law, they could extradite with proper evidence a fugitive, to the commonweath nations.
Choksi has also surrendered his Indian passport number Z-3396732 with cancelled pages to the Indian High Commission in Antigua. He has also deposited the mandatory $177 dollar for leaving Indian citizenship. He has given his new address as Jolly Harbour Marks, Antigua.
Mehul Choksi and Nirav Modi are both accused of an Rs. 13,000 crore fraud involving fake guarantees in the name of state-run Punjab National Bank to secure loans abroad. They both skipped the country a year ago, before the scam to reported to the CBI.
In December 2018, Mehul Choksi told a court that he could not come back to India citing medical reasons; that is, his health is too poor to survive a 41-hour journey from Antigua to India.
According to the foreign ministry, they had said that Mehul Choksi could not have dual citizenship. Antigua is hearing India’s case for the businessman’s extradition.
On 13 December, the Interpol had issued a Red Corner Notice (RCN) against fugitive diamantaire Choksi after a request from the CBI, who acquired Antiguan citizenship in 2018. Earlier in 2018, the Interpol had also issued RCN against Nirav Modi, his kin and associates.
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