Mehul Choksi, 62, was caught while trying to escape to Cuba from Antigua. (File photo)
India will use diplomatic channels to bring back Mehul Choksi from Dominica, sources said today after a statement by Antigua's Prime Minister that the fugitive jeweler can be sent back directly after his capture yesterday.
Sources in the home ministry say India enjoys good ties with Dominica. India recently sent one lakh Covid vaccines free of cost to the tiny Caribbean island as part of its "Vaccine Maitri" initiative.
Mehul Choksi, 62, was caught while trying to escape to Cuba from Antigua, where he had been living since 2018 after leaving India.
He had reportedly escaped from Antigua to neighbouring Dominica by boat. With an Interpol lookout circular against him, he was caught by the local police and is currently in their custody.
"I have been informed that Choksi is in custody of Dominica police. We will issue a statement after speaking to the family," said Mehul Choksi's lawyer Vijay Aggarwal.
Sources say since he entered Dominica illegally, it will be easy to deport him to India.
Investigators are assessing their options after Antigua Prime Minister Gaston Browne was quoted as saying that the wanted businessman should be sent back to India directly.
"We asked them not to repatriate him to Antigua. He needs to return to India where he can face the criminal charges levelled against him," Antigua News Room, a media outlet, quoted Mr Browne as telling journalists in Antigua and Barbuda.
"We will not accept him back. He made a monumental error by skipping the island," Mr Browne said, according to news agency ANI.
Choksi was fighting two cases in Antigua, according to the CBI, related to his citizenship and his extradition to India. He had fled to India after taking citizenship in 2017 in Antigua, where wealthy foreigners can become citizens in exchange for investing there.
He went missing on Sunday after he was seen going to dinner in his car. His staff reported him missing after his car was found, causing a furore.
The diamond jeweler, along with his nephew Nirav Modi, is wanted by Indian investigating agencies for allegedly swindling Rs 13,500 crore from state-run Punjab National Bank as loan using fake documents. Nirav Modi, arrested in London, is contesting his extradition to India.
