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PNB Scam: Mehul Choksi In Antigua, CBI Pens Letter Seeking Details

Nirav Modi’s uncle Mehul Choksi travelled to Antigua and Barbuda from the US.

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India
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The CBI wrote to Antiguan authorities on Tuesday evening, 24 July, seeking whereabouts of Mehul Choksi, Nirav Modi’s uncle and co-accused in the PNB scam.

Antigua Observer reports that Choksi was given Antiguan and Barbudan citizenship in November 2017, and oath of allegiance on January 15 this year.

“We have been informed by Interpol that Mehul Choksi traveled to Antigua from the US. The US authority told Interpol that Choksi apparently used his Antiguan passport,” an the investigating officer told The Quint.

In a letter to Antiguan authorities, the CBI cited a diffusion notice issued by the Interpol against the fugitive businessman, and sought details of his movement and his present location, the source said.

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Why Did Choksi Choose Antigua?

  • India has no extradition treaty with Antigua, which makes bringing Choksi back to India difficult.
  • Antigua, one of the Caribbean’s offshore tax havens, boasts visa-free travel to 134 countries, including all 26 European countries in the Schengen zone.
“How did Choksi manage to travel to Antigua from the US, when his Indian passport was revoked and a diffusion notice was issued against him by the Interpol? This cannot happen without some sort of connivance with some powerful people in the system,” said a former CBI officer.
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Choksi Claims He Won’t Return to India For Fear of Being Lynched

News about Choksi travelling to Antigua came a day after he moved a special court in Mumbai seeking cancellation of non-bailable warrants issued against him, claiming that he was afraid of being lynched if he returned to India.

Choksi fled India in January, nearly a fortnight before the country's biggest banking fraud surfaced.

Interpol issued an RCN against Nirav Modi on 2 July. While an RCN has also been issued against his brother Nishal, the CBI is following up with Interpol on the issuance of the Red Corner Notice (RCN) against Choksi.

The CBI has booked Choksi in two cases related to the PNB scam and filed a chargesheet against him. A special court in Mumbai issued a Non-Bailable Warrant against him. Armed with the warrant, the CBI moved the Interpol for the issuance of Red Corner Notice (RCN) against the Gitanjali group promoter in June.

The issuance of an RCN would mean that the member countries of Interpol can arrest and extradite him.

The CBI, in its chargesheets filed on 14 May, alleged that Nirav Modi, through his companies, siphoned off funds to the tune of Rs 6,498.20 crore using fraudulent LoUs issued from PNB's Brady House branch in Mumbai. Choksi allegedly swindled Rs 7080.86 crore, making it possibly the biggest banking scam in the country, it had alleged.

(With inputs from PTI)

(This is a developing story)

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Topics:  Nirav modi   Mehul Choksi   PNB scam 

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