Choksi tells Bombay HC he left India for medical reason

Diamantaire Mehul Choksi, a key accused in the multi-crore Punjab National Bank (PNB) scam, on Monday told the Bombay High Court that he left India for medical check-up and not to avoid prosecution in the case.

Choksi, currently based in the Caribbean nation of Antigua, filed an affidavit Monday through his advocate Vijay Aggarwal, stating he had left the country in January 2018 for getting medical check-up and treatment abroad.

"I have not left the country under suspicious circumstances," the affidavit said.

Choksi filed the affidavit in connection with two petitions submitted by him in the HC seeking dismissal of an application filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a special court for declaring him a fugitive economic offender.

In his petition, Choksi has said he is unable to return to India due to persisting health problems.

Choksi and his nephew Nirav Modi are wanted by the ED and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for allegedly defrauding the PNB to the tune of Rs 13,400 crore in collusion with a few employees of the government-run lender.

The multi-crore fraud came to light in early 2018.