Categories: World

Rogue jeweller Choksi wanted in Rs 14,000 crore bank scam goes missing in Antigua

<p>
Mehul Choksi, the rogue jeweller wanted by law enforcement agencies in connection with Rs 14,000 crore Punjab National Bank loan fraud, has gone missing in the Caribbean island nation of Antigua and Barbuda, where he had taken refuge after fleeing India in 2018.</p>
<p>
Antigua Newsroom, a local media outlet , cited police commissioner Atlee Rodney as saying his officers were "following up on the whereabouts of Indian businessman Mehul Choksi".</p>
<p>
Meanwhile, intelligence sources, quoting local media in Antigua, say Mr Choksi might have shifted base to Cuba, a country which also does not have an extradition agreement with India.</p>
<p>
According to news agency <em>ANI</em>, 62-year-old Choksi left his home on Monday evening to go for dinner at a restaurant in the southern part of the island. He has not been seen since. His vehicle was found later but there was no sign of him, local news channels reported.</p>
<p>
Choksi's lawyer Vijay Aggarwal said his client is missing and that his family is looking for him. He also said Antiguan police had launched a manhunt.</p>
<p>
CBI sources said the investigative agency has not been officially informed that Choksi is missing. The CBI is writing to the Antiguan embassy in India for confirmation and more information.</p>
<p>
CBI sources also said a Red Notice against Choksi  issued by Interpol in 2018 requires that they be alerted if he enters any immigration point anywhere in the world.</p>
<p>
Choksi has used his ill-gotten money to obtain a citizenship of Antigua, which is a tax haven. Getting him back requires a long-drawn legal process involving the country’s courts.</p>
<p>
Last year Antigua Prime Minister Gaston Browne said that citizenship would be revoked once all of his legal options had been exhausted.</p>
<p>
Mr Browne had said his country will not provide "safe harbour for criminals, for those who are involved in financial crimes".</p>
<p>
Choksi's nephew, fugitive billionaire jeweller Nirav Modi, 50, is also wanted in connection with the PNB scam case. Nirav Modi also fled India in 2018 and is currently in the United Kingdom.</p>
<p>
His extradition was cleared by the British government last month. However, Nirav Modi can still challenge that extradition order before the UK High Court.</p>

IN Bureau

Recent Posts

Outdated infrastructure and transformer failures worsen electricity shortages in PoGB

The region of Pakistan-occupied Gilgit-Baltistan (PoGB) is enduring an escalating electricity crisis that continues to…

2 hours ago

Uyghur educational activist dies in custody of Chinese authorities

An Uyghur intellectual and education advocate, who was detained the night before his daughter's wedding…

5 hours ago

Create data-rich platform to benefit investigation officers: Amit Shah to NCRB

Union Home Minister Amit Shah has instructed the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) to develop…

5 hours ago

Brazil:163 workers rescued from “slave” like conditions from Chinese EV company BYD

Brazilian authorities have rescued 163 workers from conditions similar to "slavery" at a construction site…

7 hours ago

Water crisis worsens in PoJK as natural springs dry up

The water crisis in Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK) has reached alarming levels as natural…

7 hours ago

UK House of Lords members express concern over China’s human rights violations in Tibet

On the 40th anniversary of the Sino-British Joint Declaration, members of the UK House of…

7 hours ago