Economic fugitive Mehul Choksi has been declared a prohibited immigrant by Dominica, where he is fighting a legal battle after being charged with illegal entry by the police. Choksi’s lawyer, Vijay Aggarwal, claimed last week that Choksi did not enter Dominica illegally and that the police there cannot arrest him because he is not a “prohibited immigrant.”
On May 25, Dominica’s ministry of national security and home affairs issued a notice declaring Mehul Choksi a prohibited immigrant. In accordance with Section 5(1) (1) of the Immigration and Passport Act, the ministry also ordered the police to “remove him from the Commonwealth of Dominica.”
On the same day, the ministry sent Choksi a separate notice informing him that he is “not permitted to enter Dominica.” The police have been ordered to “take all necessary actions to have you repatriated,” according to the notice.
Choksi had mysteriously vanished on May 23 from Antigua and Barbuda, where he had resided as a citizen since 2018. Choksi was kidnapped, according to his lawyers.
After a possible romantic escapade with his rumoured girlfriend, who he later named as one of his abductors, he was detained in neighbouring Dominica for illegal entry.
Choksi’s lawyer claimed that he was kidnapped from Antigua’s Jolly Harbour and transported to Dominica by boat.
“We said that he was kidnapped and didn’t go to Dominica of his own free will. Here under section 6 of Dominica’s Passport and Immigration Act, he is not a prohibited immigrant, therefore he has not committed any crime and Dominica police cannot arrest him,” Choksi’s lawyer Vijay Aggarwal claimed last week.
Choksi and his nephew Nirav Modi are accused of defrauding the Punjab National Bank for over Rs 13,500 crore. A legal battle is underway to prevent his extradition to India.
India has presented Dominica with evidence of Choksi’s financial fraud and urged the country to lift Choksi’s deportation, saying it is critical.
