Earlier this month, the ED had sent a communication to the Interpol asking it not to share any details with Choksi, and to ask him to approach the competent court in Mumbai where a prosecution complaint against him has been filed.
Fugitive diamantaire Mehul Choksi, who is facing investigations by the CBI and the ED in the Rs 13,500-crore PNB scam case, will have to come to India and present himself in a special Mumbai court if he wants to get details of the cases against him, the ED has told Interpol.
Choksi had recently written to the Interpol, asking to be officially provided a copy of the cases and allegations against him in India. The CBI and the ED have been pursuing the Interpol to issue a Red Notice (RN) against Choksi.
Replying to the request, the Interpol wrote to the ED seeking permission to share the prosecution complaint (chargesheet) against the jeweller, who is now residing in Antigua and Barbuda after securing citizenship there.
Earlier this month, the ED had sent a communication to the Interpol asking it not to share any details with Choksi, and to ask him to approach the competent court in Mumbai where a prosecution complaint against him has been filed.
“Why is he asking for case details from the Interpol? The chargesheet against him has been filed in a special court in Mumbai. As an accused, he has full right to seek a copy from the court. He is making such demands from the Interpol periodically with the sole purpose of delaying issuance of the Red Notice against him,” a senior ED official said.
The official said that the communication in this regard had been sent to the Interpol.
The international agency has already issued a Red Notice against Choksi’s nephew Nirav Modi, another accused in the PNB scam case. It has, however, not issued it against Choksi though the case against him is stronger.
The government of Antigua and Barbuda has also not paid any heed to extradition requests from India and has categorically said that it would not even restrict Choksi’s movement until a Red Notice is issued.
Notably, such communications between the Interpol and the ED are not new. Earlier too, the agency had written to the Interpol asking it not to share details of the case with Choksi after he raised queries to the Interpol about the details of allegations against him.
The ED had sent this communication last month after it received a letter from the Interpol seeking clarification on allegations against Choksi. The agency believed Interpol’s queries were based on objections raised by Choksi. The ED also suspected that the Interpol had shared details of the Red Notice request — which contains details of allegations — with Choksi.