INTERPOL Withdraws Red Notice against Mehul Choksi, CBI Vows to Challenge Order
The International Police (INTERPOL) has withdrawn the Red Notice issued against Indian diamond dealer, Mehul Choksi, in 2018. Choksi and his nephew, Nirav Modi, are accused by the Indian government of defrauding the Punjab National Bank of almost 20,000 Crore (more than $2 billion).
Choksi and Modi fled India to escape arrest, and the former settled in the Caribbean twin-island country of Antigua and Barbuda, where he had procured citizenship. The Indian government instigated Interpol to issue a Red Notice against the fugitive, accusing him of criminal conspiracy, criminal breach of trust, money laundering, and fraud among others.
The Red Notice issued in Interpol’s Lyon headquarters prevented Choksi from travelling to 195 countries of the world where he might be arrested by Interpol and deported to India. The Indian government could not arrest or extradict him from Antigua and Barbuda since he was a Antiguan citizen. But the narrative changed in May 2021 when the diamond dealer found himself in Dominica where he was charged with illegal entry.
In a series of court filings, Choksi claimed that he was hoodwinked into having dinner with a lady named Barbara in Antigua. He was then overpowered and a hood placed over his head as he was tied to his wheelchair. He said he was bundled into a yacht by Indian agents and transported off to Dominica, while being beaten and tortured throughout the trip.
On getting to Dominica on May 28, he was handed over to law enforcement agents who took him into custody and charged him with illegal entry. Shortly after, a plane from India arrived to Dominica with prosecutors who worked clandestinely to have Choksi deported to India. But given the mass protest over his detention, he was charged to court where his lawyers maintained that he was forcibly arrested and kidnapped to Dominica for extradition to India.
Given his failing health, the Dominican High Court ordered that Choksi be released from detention – after 51 days – and returned to Antigua to obtain necessary medical attention. The court ordered him to return to Dominica after his treatment, but this order was later vacated. Choksi subsequently filed an affidavit at the Antiguan High Court claiming his abduction to Dominica and also filed another affidavit with Interpol seeking to be released from international arrest.
Then earlier this week, Interpol revoked its global arrest warrant against Choksi, meaning that he is able to travel out to more than 195 countries without fear of arrest and deportation. The agreement from the Antiguan police authorities and Dominican courts that the diamond dealer was abducted by Indian authorities solidified Interpol’s decision to revoke its Red Notice on him.
“The report from the Antiguan police, and the evidence offered by Choksi in the ongoing High Court proceedings in Antigua, point to an alarming case of a state-orchestrated kidnap, torture, and attempted rendition by the Indian government,” Choksi’s spokesperson said. “The decision of Interpol to delete the Red Notice strengthens these concerns.”
The failed attempt to arrest Choksi and extradite him abroad was a slap on the Indian government. And Interpol’s recent revocation of its international arrest warrant on him was a bigger blow to the government. It paints the Indian government of orchestrating gangsterism overseas to extradite the citizen of another country forcefully. The step Interpol took creates a significant setback for India to bring the fugitive back home to face charges – unfairly.
But India’s Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate of the Ministry of External Affairs have sworn to challenge Interpol on the Red Notice revocation. The Indian government and its agencies said Interpol was biased, and that the claim that it orchestrated the abduction of Choksi from Antigua to Dominica will be challenged in Antiguan courts.
Choksi is the wealthy owner of Gitanjali Group, a retail diamond jewellery company with more than 4,000 stores across India.
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