Kriti Agrawal –
The bail plea of fugitive diamantaire Mehul Choksi, who is wanted in a Rs 13,500 crore Punjab National Bank (PNB) loan fraud case, has been rejected by a Dominican Court.
Following a High Court order, he was brought before a magistrate in Dominica to answer accusations of alleged illegal entrance into the Caribbean Island nation, according to local media sources.
The diamond tycoon, who unexpectedly vanished on May 23 from Antigua and Barbuda, where he had been a citizen since 2018, was arrested in Dominica for alleged illegal entry following a probable love adventure with his rumoured lover.
Choksi’s lawyers claim that he was kidnapped from Jolly Harbour in Antigua by police officers dressed in Antiguan and Indian garb and transported to Dominica on a boat.
State Attorney Sherma Dalrymple appealed to the Court not to grant bail to the accused because he was a ‘flight risk.’
Choksi’s arrest has caused turmoil in the normally tranquil political waters of neighbouring Caribbean Island countries Antigua, Barbuda and Dominica, where opposition parties have been accused of backing the businessman who is wanted by Interpol.
Choksi and his nephew Nirav Modi are wanted for allegedly using letters of undertaking to siphon off Rs 13,500 crore from the state-run Punjab National Bank (PNB).
While Modi is in a London prison after being repeatedly denied bail and is contesting his extradition to India, Choksi took citizenship of Antigua and Barbuda in 2017 using the Citizenship by Investment program before fleeing India in the first week of January 2018. Following it, the fraud was discovered.