The Ministry of External Affairs on Thursday said the Antiguan government has assured India of its full cooperation in the extradition of fugitive businessman Mehul Choksi, PTI reported. Choksi and his nephew Nirav Modi are accused of defrauding the Punjab National Bank of over Rs 13,500 crore.
External Affairs Sushma Swaraj met Foreign Minister of Antigua and Barbuda Chet Greene on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York. “Mr Greene conveyed to EAM the assurances of his Prime Minister for the fullest cooperation of their Government in the matter of extradition of Mehul Choksi to India,” MEA Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said on Twitter.
Kumar said Greene conveyed that the extradition itself has to go through a legal and court process in Antigua.
Choksi and Modi are under investigation by the Enforcement Directorate and the Central Bureau of Investigation. A CBI court had issued non-bailable warrants against Choksi and Modi. Choksi fled India in January, a few weeks before the Rs 13,600 crore scam at Punjab National Bank came to light. He was granted citizenship in Antigua and Barbuda in November 2017. Last month, he said he had “lawfully applied” to become a citizen of the island nation to expand his business interests in the Caribbean.
Kumar said the bilateral meeting between the two leaders was requested by Greene. The Antiguan minister said the extradition process has to go through legal and court process in his country.
Swaraj has requested that there be an “expeditious resolution” of the matter, PTI reported. “When we mentioned we would like this to be resolved expeditiously, they expressed their undertaking saying they would like this to be resolved as quickly as possible within the framework of their law and court process,” Kumar said.
On Wednesday, a special court in Mumbai gave time till October 30 to Choksi to file his reply to an Enforcement Directorate plea seeking to declare him a fugitive under the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act. The agency had moved the special Prevention of Money Laundering Act court seeking to declare Choksi and Modi “fugitive economic offenders” and an approval to confiscate their assets, both movable and immovable, worth Rs 3,500 crore.
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