Fugitive diamantaire Mehul Choksi, wanted in the Rs 13,000-crore PNB scam, may have gone missing in Antigua and reached Cuba, according to Antigua Police. He has been reported missing since May 23, 2021.
Choksi seems to have made this move since the Indian government has been putting pressure on Antigua to revoke his citizenship.
But, why did Mehul Choksi go to Antigua?
In the first week of January 2018, Mehul Choksi had fled India, almost a month before the PNB scam surfaced. Choksi and his nephew, Nirav Modi, were booked by CBI in two cases related to the banking fraud and filed a charge sheet against them. The duo allegedly siphoned off Rs 13,500 crore of public money from the state-run Punjab National bank.
In July 2018, it was found out that Choksi had reached Antigua that month. He had also taken citizenship of the twin-island nation in November 2017 using the Citizenship by Investment Program (CIP).
Choksi gave up his Indian citizenship in January, 2019. He cancelled his passport and surrendered it to the Indian High Commission when the government objected to his dual citizenship.
It is believed that the fugitive diamantaire took this move also to avoid extradition to India.
However, in June 2019, the authorities of Antigua confirmed that his citizenship will be revoked after he exhausted all his legal options and that the country doesn’t want to provide a safe space for criminals like him.
Published 25 May 2021, 07:07 IST