The Dominican government urged in court today that Mehul Choksi, the fugitive diamond merchant wanted in connection with the Punjab National Bank’s 14,000 crore loan scandal, be repatriated to India.
The Dominican Public Prosecution Service has informed the Dominican High Court that the 62-year-petition old’s is unmaintainable and should not be heard. According to NDTV, India is pushing for his deportation as soon as possible, claiming that he is still an Indian citizen.
Mehul Choksi, who was apprehended in Dominica last week while attempting to flee extradition to India, is participating in the trial via videoconference. He is currently being treated in a hospital for injuries allegedly sustained during the alleged kidnapping from Antigua, according to his lawyers.
His lawyers, Queen’s Counsels Justin Simon and John Carrington, claim he was kidnapped and taken to Dominica. If the court agrees with the reasoning, he will be deported to Antigua, where he got citizenship and fled before being apprehended in India.
Antigua, on the other hand, has stated that he should be deported from Dominica to India immediately once it was discovered that he had left the nation. Opposition parties in both Antigua and Dominica have accused the ruling parties of conspiring with Mehul Choksi.
The Central Bureau of Investigation and the Enforcement Directorate are part of an eight-member multi-agency team in Dominica awaiting Choksi’s extradition. The government of Trinidad and Tobago has also dispatched its High Commissioner to assist the officials.
According to an official from the Union Home Ministry, India believes Mehul Choksi obtained Antigua citizenship by fraudulent claims, and “we have been challenging it.”
The team of Mehul Choksi has contended that the new Citizenship laws cannot override the Indian Constitution. “According to Article 9 of the Constitution, any Indian who applies for foreign citizenship for whatever reason loses their Indian citizenship by default. As a result, India’s argument will be dismissed “According to a lawyer who represents him,
Mehul Choksi and his nephew, renowned jeweler Nirav Modi, left India in January 2018, weeks before the PNB scandal became public. Later, it was revealed that he had obtained Antiguan citizenship two months prior to the scam’s discovery.
