Red Notice revoked against Mehul Choksi

Mehul Choksi, the Indian diamond dealer who is desperately wanted by the government in Delhi to answer fraud charges, has successfully had his name removed from the Interpol database of Red Notices.

Reports are that the notice was removed based on his [Choksi’s]plea to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

A Red Notice is a request to law enforcement worldwide to locate and provisionally arrest a person pending extradition, surrender, or similar legal action.

It is based on an arrest warrant or court order issued by the judicial authorities in the requesting country. Member countries apply their laws in deciding whether or not to arrest a person.

In the case of Choksi, Interpol issued a Red Notice against him in 2018, almost a year after he left India to travel to Antigua and Barbuda where he gained citizenship by investment.

After the red notice was issued, Choksi, through his attorneys challenged the CBI application saying that the case was a result of political conspiracy, and feared that he would experience terrible jail conditions in India, and had safety and health concerns

When the news broke, a spokesman for Choksi said “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 kidnapping, torture, and attempted rendition by the Indian government. The decision of Interpol to delete the Red Notice strengthens these concerns,”.

Choksi mysteriously disappeared from Antigua and Barbuda in May 2021 and was found in Dominica hours later. He was charged with illegal entry.  There were also attempts to repatriate Choksi to India while in Dominica. That country rushed a team to the Nature Ilse to allegedly snatch Choksi.

The evidence of this pointed to a private chartered flight from India that remained at the airport in Dominica for over 48 hours.

After several weeks between prison and the hospital in Dominica, Choksi was granted bail by the Dominica High Court and allowed to return to Antigua to seek medical attention.

He was expected to travel back to Dominica once his health conditions improve but a few days later, the proceedings against him for illegal entry into Dominica were dropped.

An active investigation is also underway into Choksi’s alleged kidnapping.