Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday said that diamond merchant Mehul Choksi, who fled India last year after the Punjab National Bank scam came to light, would be brought back to the country, PTI reported. Choksi, who is accused of defrauding the bank of more than Rs 13,000 crore along with his nephew Nirav Modi, fled India in January 2018.

“We have brought in the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act and there is a process under that law [to prosecute fraud],” Rajnath told reporters after laying the foundation stone for a Kendriya Vidyalaya at a Central Industrial Security Force camp in Greater Noida. “He [Choksi] will be brought to India for sure. No one will be spared.”

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Earlier in the day, a newspaper reported that Choksi has surrendered his Indian passport to authorities in Antigua and Barbuda. In August, the businessman claimed he had “lawfully applied” to become a citizen of the Carribbean nation to expand his business interests.

According to DNA, Choksi deposited $177 with authorities in Antigua to give up his citizenship and surrendered his passport (Z-3396732) to the Indian High Commission in the country.

Punjab National Bank scam

The fraud came to light in February when the bank informed the Bombay Stock Exchange that it had detected “fraudulent and unauthorised transactions” worth Rs 11,380 crore at one of its branches in South Mumbai.

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Investigations revealed that a few bank officials had allegedly issued fraudulent Letters of Undertaking to Nirav Modi’s companies. Both Modi and Choksi left the country in Janaury, weeks before the scam became public. The bank later raised its estimate of the value of the fraud to over Rs 13,000 crore.

The Interpol issued a notice against Modi and his sister Purvi Modi in July and September, and against Choksi three months later. A similar notice was issued against Mihir R Bhansali, a senior executive at the US branch of Modi’s company, on charges of money laundering.