Fugitive diamond merchant Mehul Choksi, wanted in the Rs 14,000 crore Punjab National Bank loan fraud case, has been nabbed from the tiny island nation of Dominica while trying to flee by boat to Cuba, according to CBI sources.
The 62-year-old had gone missing earlier this week from the Caribbean island nation of Antigua and Barbuda, where he had taken refuge after fleeing India in 2018 to escape from the law enforcement agencies.
Indian enforcement agencies have got information that Choksi had reached Dominica by boat. Since there was a lookout circular issued against him, he was arrested by the local police and is currently in their custody.
His disappearance came amid efforts to get him extradited by the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate, which are investigating the fraud at India's second largest state owned bank.
The process of handing him over to the Antigua authorities is on and the CBI and ED have been informed that he has been found, sources said.
Sources in the CBI said his attempt to flee will make their case stronger in Antiguan courts and they are confident that he would be extradited to India to face charges in the bank fraud case.
Earlier, there was no official confirmation from Antigua that Mehul Choksi was missing.
The island nation's Prime Minister Gaston Browne had said he had "no reliable information till date" that Choksi fled the country. A hunt for him started after he was reported missing by a family member.
Prime Minister Browne had said Choksi was facing two cases in Antigua courts for extradition and revocation of citizenship. He had brought in a well-known lawyer from the UK.
Choksi's lawyer had also denied the possibility that he would flee the country. "The family is worried about his safety. We are keeping a watch on developments," advocate Vijay Aggarwal was quoted as saying by news agency Press Trust of India.
Mehul Choksi and his nephew and partner-in-crime jeweller Nirav Modi, had fled India in January 2018 just weeks before the PNB scam was made public. He then used his money to make investments in the tax haven of Antigua which made him eligible to become a citizen of the Caribbean island.
