ST. JOHN’S, Antigua, Apr 14, CMC – Lawyers representing the Antigua and Barbuda citizen, Mehul Choksi , say they plan to file an appeal against his arrest in Belgium where he has been detained on an Indian extradition request for his alleged involvement in a US$1.8 billion fraud case involving the Punjab National Bank (PNB).
“An appeal will be filed for his release, on grounds that he is undergoing cancer treatment and is not a flight risk,” the lawyer, Vijay Aggarwal told the Reuters news agency on Monday.
Choksi, who had been granted Antigua and Barbuda citizenship under its Citizenship by Investment (CBI) programme, is accused of being involved in one of India’s biggest bank frauds .
The PNB had filed a criminal complaint with the Indian central investigative agency against several entities and individuals, naming billionaire jeweller Nirav Modi and his uncle and managing director of Gitanjali Gems, Choksi, as the primary accused behind the alleged fraud.
Indian federal police filed fraud charges against Choksi, Nirav Modi and others in connection with suspected involvement in fraudulent transactions that led to huge losses for PNB.
But Choksi and the other diamond tycoons have denied any wrongdoing.
In 2021, Choksi, 66, who claimed he had been kidnapped in Antigua and Barbuda and forcibly taken to Dominica, pleaded not guilty to a charge of illegally entering the island.
But the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP), Sherma Dalrymple, objected to bail being granted, arguing that the accused is a flight risk and that the International Police (INTERPOL) has also issued a Red Notice, the highest notice issued against a fugitive, for his arrest.
However, in July 2021, he was granted EC$10,000 (One EC dollar=US$0.37 cents) bail so as to allow him to travel to Antigua and Barbuda for medical treatment. The criminal proceedings against him as been adjourned without a set date for a further hearing.
Dominica’s Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit dismissed as “total nonsense” suggestions that Dominica and Antigua and Barbuda had played a role in the alleged kidnapping of Choksi.
In June, 2022, Prime Minister Gaston Browne told parliament that his government would not have been involved in any decision or any attempt to have Choksi removed from the state illegally.
“If indeed the government of India needs our cooperation, then we would not need a third party to get Choksi out of the country.” he told legislators, adding if indeed Choksi had not been a citizen of Antigua and Barbuda, his government would have wasted no time to make the Indian fugitive “persona non grata”.
The Indian government has sent a request to Belgium authorities for Choksi’s extradition.
His arrest followed international media reports that he was living in Antwerp with his wife after securing a residency card in November 2023.
CMC/ag/ir/2025