PremiumThe Dominica High Court has rejected the bail plea of fugitive diamantaire Mehul Choksi, deeming him a "flight risk".
Judge Wynante Adrien-Roberts of Dominica HC gave the ruling on Friday (local time), concluding that Choksi did not have any ties with Dominica and the court could not impose any conditions which will stop him from leaving the country.
The high court pointed that Choksi proposed he will stay with his brother in the hotel, which is not a fixed address. The court also noted that his trial has not started yet.
Currently, Choksi has got interim relief from immediate repatriation to India by the Dominican court.
The businessman had sought bail citing medical ground. His lawyers argued that as a CARICOM (Caribbean Community) citizen, he is entitled to bail since his alleged offence is a bailable one with a fine of EC$ 5,000.
The court then highlighted that Choksi did not offer any strong surety.
On his medical condition, the lawyer appearing on behalf of the state that it was not an issue since the fugitive had received the necessary medical attention.
The court verdict comes a few days after Dominica Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit termed Choksi as an "Indian citizen" and stated that the courts will decide what happens to the fugitive. He added that the government will protect the rights of Choksi as he awaits trial.
"The matter with this Indian citizen is before the courts, the courts will decide what happens to this gentleman and we allow the court process to go through," Loop Jamaica News quoted that Dominica PM as saying.
Choksi, 62, who has an Interpol Red Notice against him, had mysteriously gone missing on 23 May from Antigua and Barbuda where he has been staying since 2018 as a citizen after fleeing from India.
He was detained in the neighbouring island country of Dominica.
Choksi's lawyers alleged that he was kidnapped from Jolly Harbour in Antigua by policemen looking like Antiguan and Indian and brought to Dominica on a boat.
He was also brought before a Roseau magistrate, on the orders of High Court Judge Bernie Stephenson, hearing Habeas Corpus matter, to answer charges of illegal entry where he pleaded not guilty but was denied bail.
Charges on Choksi in India
The businessman is wanted in India for ₹13,500 crore bank fraud in Punjab National Bank.
Choksi and his nephew Nirav Modi had fled India in the first week of January 2018, weeks before the PNB scam rocked the Indian banking industry.
The duo allegedly bribed officials of the state-run bank to get Letters of Undertaking (LoU) on the basis of which they availed loans from overseas banks that remained unpaid.
The allegedly corrupt bank officials did not enter these LoUs in the core banking software of PNB, thus evading scrutiny. The non-payment of these LoUs or bank guarantees worth ₹13,500 crore resulted in default and became a liability on the bank.
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