India is in dogged pursuit of fugitive diamantaire Mehul Choksi, one of the prime accused in the Rs 13,500-crore Punjab National Bank loan fraud case, but may run into some legal hurdles before it can get him back within its borders to stand trial.
An eight-member team from India, including officers from the Central Bureau of Investigation, the Enforcement Directorate and the Central Reserve Police Force has landed in Dominica to bring Choksi back, who is imprisoned in the island nation after an alleged escape attempt from Antigua, according to a report by NDTV.
However, the team from India will have their work cut out for them as they attempt to deport Choksi directly to India rather than Antigua, where Choksi had attained citizenship in 2018.
The legal problem
Choksi’s lawyers have countered Antigua’s claims to say the businessman had not fled Antigua but was abducted from the Caribbean nation, lured into a “honey trap”. Choksi’s legal team has claimed a woman he had met over the past six months invited him to her apartment in Antigua on May 23, where he was kidnapped by a group of men. The lawyers claim he was assaulted and then taken to Dominica on a yacht.
Antigua’s Prime Minister Gaston Browne has said Choksi could be extradited directly to India, but this has been met with resistance from Choksi’s legal team, who have urged the High Court to disallow this on grounds of Choksi being an Antiguan citizen, even though the country has begun a process to revoke his citizenship.
To complicate matters further, India does not have a standing extradition treaty with Dominica.
Choksi’s passport
Under Indian law, if a person assumes citizenship in another country, they must surrender their Indian passport. While Choksi may have surrendered his passport, the Indian government had refused to accept it and a certificate of surrender of passport has not been issued, The Indian Express reported.
However, it would be difficult for Indian officials to argue that Choksi is still a citizen of the country as India does not recognize dual citizenship and Antigua does not require an immigrant to surrender their passport before assuming citizenship.
India’s argument
India’s best chances of bringing Choksi home rest on the fact that Interpol has issued a Red Notice against Choksi for financial crimes committed in India, which India would argue makes for a strong legal case against him. Officials would also likely contend that this was Choksi’s only reason to apply for Antiguan citizenship in the first place.
However, Choksi’s legal team could drag the issue out and allege human rights violations and suggest India and Antigua were colluding to conduct an extra-judicial extraction.
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