Mehul Choksi, the 62-year-old fugitive diamantaire wanted by the CBI and Enforcement Directorate in connection with a 14,000-crore PNB loan fraud and money-laundering case, has vanished in Antigua and Barbuda, the Caribbean island nation where he fled in 2018.
Vijay Aggarwal, Mr Choksi’s lawyer, confirmed to NDTV on Tuesday morning that his client is missing and that his family is looking for him. Antiguan police had also launched a manhunt, he added.
A local media outlet – Antigua Newsroom – quoted Police Commissioner Atlee Rodney as saying his officers were “following up on the whereabouts of Indian businessman Mehul Choksi”.
A local media outlet – Antigua Newsroom – quoted Police Commissioner Atlee Rodney as saying his officers were “following up on the whereabouts of Indian businessman Mehul Choksi”.
His vehicle was discovered later that evening, but he was nowhere to be found, according to local news outlets.
Mehul Choksi is fighting extradition to India in a long-running legal battle.
He is currently a citizen of Antigua and Barbuda. Last year, Antigua Prime Minister Gaston Browne stated that citizenship would be revoked after he had exhausted all legal options.
Mr Browne made it clear his country – among many ‘tax havens’ in the Caribbean – will not provide “safe harbour for criminals, for those who are involved in financial crimes”.
“Choksi’s citizenship was processed, he got through. We do have recourse, the reality is his citizenship will be revoked and he will be deported to India,” the Antigua Observer reported Mr Browne as saying.
