Following fugitive diamantaire Mehul Choksi's arrest, Antiguan Prime Minister Gaston Browne has said that he has asked the Dominican government to have the PNB scam accused repatriated to India.
Choksi, who had recently fled from Antigua and Barbuda, was captured in neighbouring Dominica after an Interpol Yellow Notice was issued against him. As per reports, he is currently in the custody of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) in Dominica.
Choksi had been living in Antigua and Barbuda since 2018 after taking the citizenship of the country.
Read | Fugitive Indian jeweller Mehul Choksi captured in Dominica
Browne said that Antigua will not accept Choksi and he will be repatriated to India.
"He was found in Dominica. He may have entered the island illegally, possibly by boats. We have requested Dominican law enforcement agencies to not return him to Antigua where he has legal and constitutional rights as a citizen. We specifically requested them to have Indian law enforcement agencies make necessary arrangements to have him returned directly to India," Browne told ANI.
He further said that Dominica has agreed (for Mehul Choksi's repatriation). "We'll not accept him back. He made a monumental error by skipping the island. Dominican govt and law enforcement are cooperating and we have informed the Indian government to have him repatriated to India," he said.
Choksi, who is wanted in a Rs 13,500 crore loan fraud in the Punjab National Bank, was last seen going for dinner in his car in Antigua and Barbuda on May 23. His staff had reported him missing after his car was found.
The businessman's lawyer Vijay Aggarwal had confirmed that Choksi had been missing.
Choksi and his nephew Nirav Modi allegedly siphoned off Rs 13,500 crore of public money from the state-run Punjab National Bank (PNB), using fraudulent letters of undertaking.
Modi is contesting his extradition lodged in a London jail after repeated denial of his bail by courts.
Choksi had taken citizenship of Antigua and Barbuda in 2017 using the Citizenship by Investment programme before escaping India in the first week of January 2018. The scam came to light subsequently. Both are facing a CBI probe.
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