• Friday, March 29, 2024

INDIA

Antigua and Barbuda prime minister asks Dominica to repatriate Choksi to India

Mehul Choksi (Photo by Priyanka Parashar/Mint via Getty Images)

By: Shilpa Sharma

ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA prime minister Gaston Browne has asked neighbouring country Dominica, where fugitive Indian businessman Mehul Choksi was caught, to repatriate him to India direct.

“We (authorities in Antigua and Barbuda) asked them not to repatriate him to Antigua. He needs to return to India where he can face the criminal charges levelled against him,” Antigua News Room, a media outlet, quoted Browne as telling journalists in Antigua and Barbuda.

“We will not accept him (Choksi) back,” Browne said, adding, “He made a monumental error by skipping the island.”

It was likely Choksi entered Dominica illegally by boat, Browne said.

He added that the Dominican government and law enforcement agencies were co-operating and that Antigua was in talks with the Indian government for his repatriation.

Choksi is wanted in a £1.32 billion loan fraud case related to the Punjab National Bank in India.

The businessman recently fled Antigua and Barbuda and was captured after an Interpol Yellow Notice was issued against him. He was last seen going for dinner in his car in Antigua and Barbuda on Sunday (23). His staff reported him missing after his car was found.

Browne believes it would be easy for Dominica to repatriate Choksi to India, as he would not have the same rights in Dominica as he has in Antigua and Barbuda.

Choksi moved to Antigua and Barbuda in 2018 after taking citizenship in 2017 under the Citizenship by Investment programme. He fled India in the first week of January 2018.

His nephew Nirav Modi, who is also wanted in India over the same case, is currently lodged in a London jail. Modi is contesting his extradition to India after repeated denial of his bail by courts.

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