Fugitive diamantaire Mehul Choksi traced, apprehended in Dominica

St. Johns [Antigua]: Fugitive diamantaire Mehul Choksi has been apprehended in Dominica and is in custody of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the country, reported Antigua media.

Antigua police launched a manhunt for Mehul Choksi after his lawyer Vijay Aggarwal said that family members were worried as Choksi was missing since Sunday (May 23), sparking a manhunt for him.

There were media reports in Antigua that the police have launched a manhunt for Mehul Choksi. It was reported that Choksi left his home last evening to go for dinner at a well-known restaurant in the southern part of the island and was never seen again.

His vehicle was discovered in Jolly Harbour later in the evening, but there was no sign of him.

In an exclusive statement to ANI on Tuesday, Choksi’s lawyer Vijay Aggarwal said, “Mehul Choksi is missing. His family members are worried and anxious and had called me to discuss. Antigua police are investigating. Family is in the dark and worried about his safety.”

According to Antigua media, Choksi was apprehended by lawmen in Dominica last night, after local police had asked Interpol to issue a yellow notice alert in his pursuit. Police in Dominica are making arrangements to hand him over to Antigua police.

On Tuesday, Prime Minister Gaston Browne on Tuesday had said that there was no reliable information of his departure so far and it was likely that he was still in the country.

“In any case, we do not have any reliable information till date to confirm that he has fled the country. It is likely that he may still be here and the law enforcement are utilising all efforts including all intelligence to try and locate Choksi. However, the cases continue and I am quite sure that in the event that he would have fled the country, he would get a judgement in absentia and we will revoke his citizenship in due course,” said Browne, while responding to a query from the opposition in Parliament, reported Antigua media.

Meanwhile, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had launched its own probe and approached the Antigua embassy in India soon after reports that the fugitive diamantaire had gone missing in Antigua surfaced.

Choksi has been involved in a legal battle to stop his extradition back to India to answer fraud charges against him.

Mehul Choksi was the owner of Geetanjali jewellers and is involved in an economic fraud case of over Rs 13,000 crore and siphoning off the money illegally. CBI has filed several cases against him and investigations are underway, including his extradition request.

Recently Nirav Modi, nephew of Choksi was ordered to be extradited to India from the United Kingdom to face charges of conspiring to defraud the Punjab National Bank of more than a billion dollars, a UK judge ruled.