Dominican court stops Choksi’s repatriation

| | New Delhi
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Dominican court stops Choksi’s repatriation

Saturday, 29 May 2021 | PNS | New Delhi

A top Dominica court has restrained repatriation of fugitive businessman Mehul Choksi from the Caribbean island nation to India to face legal proceedings in the over `13,500 crore PNB credit fraud scam.

According to media reports in the island country, the order came on a petition filed by the lawyers of Choksi, who was detained in Dominica for “illegal entry”. Choksi had fled from the neighbouring Antigua and Barbuda where he was reported missing since Sunday.

Meanwhile, reports here said India’s High Commissioner to Port of Spain, Arun Kumar Sahu, is likely to travel to Dominica next week to initiate a dialogue with the island country and explore Choksi’s repatriation here.

Choksi is wanted here for trial before respective courts in a criminal as well as a money laundering case by the CBI and ED respectively.

Earlier on Thursday, Dominica Government had officially contacted High Commissioner Sahu to inform him about the arrest of Choksi by the CID.

“The legal team has filed a habeas corpus petition in Dominica for Mehul Choksi and have also highlighted deprivation of access to Mehul Choksi and deprivation of constitutional rights to legal assistance,” Choksi’s lawyer in Mumbai Vijay Aggarwal reportedly said.

According to a report in Antigua News Room, the High Court of Justice in Dominica “restrained” the authorities from “removing” Choksi till further orders.

Choksi’s attorney in Dominica, Wayne Marsh, had told a radio show that in a brief interaction with his client, allowed by authorities after a lot of efforts, Choksi had told him that he was picked up at Jolly Harbour in Antigua and Barbuda by men looking like Indian and Antiguan policemen and was put in a vessel.

Marsh also claimed that he saw injury marks on the body of Choksi who had swollen eyes and feared for his life.  He said Choksi is a citizen of Antigua and Barbuda and not India, hence he should be sent back.

Aggarwal called the entire episode of Choksi’s mysterious disappearance and detention in Dominica “fishy”.

“Lawyers for Choksi in Antigua and Barbuda and Dominica have been trying to have a legal interview with him as per his constitutional rights but they were denied access to him,” Aggarwal claimed, adding, after great effort they were able to speak to Choksi for two minutes.

During this, Choksi narrated a “horrifying” experience which is an eye-opener and vindicates my stand that he would not have gone from Antigua voluntarily, Aggarwal further said.

After being taken from Antigua, Choksi was kept somewhere and then on Monday he was taken to a police station. Since then, he has been there and this news to the world was broken only on Wednesday, and there were marks on his body, Aggarwal asserted.

“There is something fishy and I guess it was a strategy to take him to another country so that there are chances of sending him back to India. So I don’t know what forces are operating. Only the time will tell,” he said.

Choksi was reportedly last seen going for dinner in his car in Antigua and Barbuda on Sunday. The police there had launched a manhunt after his family and staff there claimed he went missing. 

The Dominica Government on Thursday (India time) announced Choksi has been “detained” for illegal entry into that country.

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