A week has not passed but two Indian fugitives and partners in crime Nirav Modi and Mehul Choski are all set to be deported to India in due time. Earlier, Nirav Modi lost the case against the UK Court and now Antigua and Barbuda have accelerated the much-awaited process of cancellation of citizenship of Mehul Choksi.
Only recently, India managed to convince a UK court to extradite Nirav Modi to India to face justice for his various economic offences. The UK court prima facie accepted India’s charges of fraud, money laundering, threatening witnesses, and tampering with evidence.
After the Punjab National Bank fraud and laundering case in 2017, the duo of Nirav Modi and Choksi had fled from India. While Nirav moved to the United Kingdom, his partner in crime Choksi holed up in the Caribbean Islands.
The government of India had initiated the process of their extradition two years ago, in March 2019, when the UK Police arrested Nirav Modi and he was detained for almost two years. Then Indian agencies like CBI and ED spread their arms in the Caribbean region that led to the cancellation of the Antiguan citizenship of Choksi.
A report published by Antigua Observer in 2019, called the diamond businessman a “crook” and also stated that Mehul Choksi’s citizenship should be revoked instantly because his reputation is a disgrace to the Caribbean nation’s Citizenship by Investment Programme. The citizenship programme allows the minister in charge to withdraw citizenship if it is earned by false representation of documents, fraud or wilful concealment of material facts.
It’s no surprise that Mehul Choksi siphoned off close to 7,080 crores and shelled 13,578 crores from Punjab National Bank.
Lionel Hurst, the Chief of Staff of the Antiguan Prime Minister said that the process of revoking citizenship will take due time, of approximately seven years. As Choksi can financially create legal hurdles, it will take some time to overcome legalities but as soon as his citizenship is revoked, he will be deported back to India.
CBI and ED officers pointed out Hurst’s statements and also said that at the time when the fugitive runs off his fuel, his extradition process will take off. Meanwhile Prime Minister of Antigua, Gaston Browne personally assured India of shipping Choksi back home.
In 2018, the Indian government tried to extradite Mehul Choksi under the principle of reciprocity and dual criminality but the process is still pending in the legal files. The extradition on dual criminality means that extradition is possible when it is an offence in the eyes of both requesting and requested countries.
On the other hand, Indian investigative agencies have enough evidence to put the fraudster duo behind the bar. The evidence against them ranges from destroying evidence, intimidation of witnesses to fake Letter of Undertaking ( LOU) and draining public sector money through shell companies.
Despite the sinister attempt of Choksi fleeing in a country where India has no extradition treaty, the foreign policy of the Modi government had made his efforts futile.
