Choksi will be extradited to India: Antigua

Antigua/New Delhi, June 25

Absconding diamond merchant Mehul Choksi’s citizenship of Antigua may be revoked by the Caribbean country and he could be extradited to India after he exhausts all legal options, Prime Minister Gaston Browne has been quoted as saying.

Choksi, 60, acquired nationality of Antigua and Barbuda in November, 2017, using Citizenship by Investment Program (CIP) of the twin island nation. He fled India in the first week of January last year, days before Rs 13,400-crore scam was detected and reported by state-run Punjab National Bank (PNB).

Choksi, promoter of Gitanjali Gems, and his nephew Nirav Modi, who is currently in a London jail, are wanted by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the CBI for allegedly masterminding the biggest banking fraud in India.

PM Browne said the citizenship of the billionaire diamond trader would be revoked by the Caribbean country after he exhausted all his legal options.

“His (Choksi) citizenship was processed; he got through, but the reality is his citizenship will be revoked and he will be repatriated to India.... I can assure you, after he has exhausted all of his legal options, he will be extradited,” he was quoted as saying by the Antigua Observer on Monday. — PTI