People familiar with the situation said on Friday that the private jet India sent to Dominica with documents related to the deportation of fugitive diamantaire Mehul Choksi last week flew out of the island at 8:10 p.m. local time on Thursday. Choksi, who is wanted in the multibillion-dollar Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud case, is being held under police guard at the Dominica-China Friendship Hospital.
It’s unclear whether the Indian team that went there with the documents has returned or not. The above-mentioned individuals also stated that the flight’s destination is unknown.
Last week, Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister Gaston Browne announced that Qatar Executive’s Bombardier Global 5000 business jet landed at Dominica’s Douglas Charles airport on May 29. Browne also said on a radio show in his country that Choksi may have left Antigua and taken a boat ride to Dominica with his girlfriend for dinner or a “good time.”
A Dominica court denied the 62-year-old businessman bail on Thursday and remanded him in police custody for two weeks on charges of illegally entering the island nation. The Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court postponed a hearing in a habeas corpus petition filed by Choksi’s lawyers, and the government of Antigua, where the 62-year-old spent three years as a citizen before going missing on May 23, reiterated its support for deporting Choksi to India.
