Mehul Choksi Fights Against Deportation to India

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) told a special court that fugitive businessman Mehul Choksi does not wish to return to India, as he continues to contest extradition proceedings in Belgium.

The agency’s plea to declare Choksi, who holds Antiguan and Barbudan citizenship, a fugitive economic offender (FEO), filed in July 2018, remains pending.

Such a declaration is a crucial step in major financial fraud cases, as it empowers authorities to confiscate assets in India and abroad.

Choksi’s lawyers, however, have sought dismissal of the plea, arguing that since their client is already in custody in Belgium in connection with cases pending in India, the ED’s application has become redundant.

Mehul Choksi is an Indian businessman and the former head of Gitanjali Group, a major jewellery company.

He became one of the most wanted economic fugitives in India after being implicated in the Punjab National Bank (PNB) scam of 2018, which is one of India’s largest banking frauds, amounting to over US$2 billion.

This scam also involved his nephew, Nirav Modi. Just weeks before the PNB scam was uncovered, Choksi left India in January 2018. He later surfaced in Antigua and Barbuda, where he obtained citizenship under the government’s Citizenship by Investment Program (CIP) in 2017.

At the time, the Antiguan government confirmed that his citizenship application had undergone extensive checks, including clearance from Interpol, which revealed no criminal charges.

Following Indian authorities’ request for his extradition, Antigua and Barbuda faced considerable diplomatic and legal pressure. Prime Minister Gaston Browne has repeatedly asserted that Choksi would not be allowed to use Antigua as a safe haven and would be repatriated if found guilty by Indian courts.

Despite this, Choksi’s lawyers filed numerous challenges, claiming violations of his rights and raising concerns regarding his health. In 2021, Choksi claimed he was abducted from Antigua and taken to Dominica, which sparked significant controversy.

The Antiguan government opposed his forced removal, stressing that due legal processes must be followed. Currently, Choksi still holds Antiguan citizenship, although the government has indicated that it is working towards revoking it. He continues to contest extradition efforts, having previously done so in Antigua and now in Belgium, where he was later detained.

The connection to Antigua remains central to the case, as his citizenship there provided him with a base outside of India and complicated the extradition process. This situation required Antiguan courts to carefully consider human rights, due process, and diplomatic obligations.

In short, Mehul Choksi utilized Antigua’s Citizenship by Investment Program to secure a passport just before the PNB fraud was revealed. His presence in Antigua has led to years of legal and diplomatic wrangling over extradition, placing the small Caribbean nation at the center of a global financial scandal