Mehul Choksi wins legal battle in Antigua and Barbuda, allowed to stay on island

Mehul Choksi

Mehul Choksi, a diamond merchant who is wanted in India for a fraud case worth Rs 13,000 crore, has emerged victorious in a legal battle, according to reports.

The High Court of Antigua and Barbuda ruled in his favour, granting him permission to stay on the island and not be removed. The court has issued an order prohibiting the removal of Mehul Choksi from the island's territory without a High Court ruling following an inter-party hearing.

The order also states that this is subject to Choksi exhausting all available legal remedies, including appeals.

Choksi has demanded an investigation into his claims and sought relief, including a declaration suggesting that he is entitled to a thorough and prompt investigation into the circumstances of his forcible removal from Antigua and Barbuda around May 23, 2021.

Last month, his name was removed from the Interpol database of Red Notices on the basis of his plea to the Lyon-headquartered agency.

Interpol issued the Red Notice against Choksi in 2018, nearly 10 months after he fled from India in January that year to take refuge in Antigua and Barbuda, where he had taken citizenship.

Choksi had challenged the CBI application seeking issuance of Red Notice against him, calling the case a result of political conspiracy, sources said. He had also raised questions on issues such as jail conditions in India, his personal safety and health, they added.

The agency, in its charge sheets, had alleged that Choksi swindled Rs 7,080.86 crore, making it one of the biggest banking scam in the country at over Rs 13,000 crore. Nirav Modi allegedly siphoned Rs 6,000 crore. An additional loan default of over Rs 5,000 crore to Choksi's companies is also a matter of probe under the CBI.

Choksi had disappeared from his sanctuary in Antigua and Barbuda in May 2021 to mysteriously appear in neighbouring Dominica where he was detained for illegal entry.