MEHUL CHOKSI BACK IN ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA AFTER 52 DAYS
NEW DELHI: Diamantaire Mehul Choksi on Thursday returned to Antigua and Barbuda, where he is a citizen, three days after a court in Dominica granted him bail. Unnamed officials earlier said that Choksi’s return to Antigua could delay his potential extradition to India. Choksi went missing from Antigua on May 23 and was found in Dominica the next day.
NEW DELHI: Diamantaire Mehul Choksi on Thursday returned to Antigua and Barbuda, where he is a citizen, three days after a court in Dominica granted him bail on medical grounds. He mysteriously went missing from Antigua on May 23 and was found in Dominica, around 200 km away, the next day.
Choksi’s family and legal team blamed India, which has sought his deportation to face trial in the ₹13,578 crore Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud, and Antigua and Barbuda for abducting him. India even sent a special jet with a team of eight officers to Dominica in the expectation of the country deporting him.
Choksi, 62, spent 52 days in Dominica, where he was charged with “illegal entry”. The Dominica high court on Monday allowed his plea to return to Antigua “strictly for medical treatment” and ordered him to return once he is fit to travel. Indian investigators feel he will now never return to Dominica.
Choksi landed at Antigua’s VC Bird International Airport in an air ambulance around 3.30 pm Wednesday Caribbean time (Thursday early morning India
time). He was received by the island’s ministry of foreign affairs officials, people familiar with the matter said. Choksi carried the Dominican court order and did not face any problems with immigration authorities, they added.
Choksi’s lawyer, Vijay Aggarwal, said his client has returned home safely. “He faced no issues while entering Antigua. He is receiving medical treatment and his family is feeling relieved. ...torture during kidnapping has caused him a lot of psychological and physical harm .... After tasting success in Dominica, now the legal team is gearing up for a long-drawn fight in Antigua.”
Antigua and Barbuda government said on Wednesday evening that while Choksi has returned from Dominica, the Royal Police Force of the island will continue to investigate his claim of kidnapping.