Almost a 12 months after fugitive jeweler Mehul Choksi was arrested in Dominica, the Dominican Republic authorities has dropped all prices towards him for unlawful entry. A key accused within the Rs 13,000 crore Punjab National Bank mortgage fraud case, Choksi was arrested by the Dominican authorities on May 24 final 12 months for unlawful entry into the nation.
In July, Choksi, who fled India in 2017, was launched on bail on medical grounds, following which he went to Antigua and Barbuda, the place he has been residing since. An extradition continuing is on towards him within the Caribbean nation based mostly on a request from India.
“Choksi is pleased that the Dominican government dropped all charges against him for unlawful entry in May 2021. By doing so, they now recognize that there was never any case against him,” a spokesperson for Choksi stated.
“Truth at all times comes out ultimately, regardless of how laborious anybody tries to cease it or disguise it. Lies are simply momentary delays to the inevitable. It was extraordinarily insensitive for some folks to name accidents on my consumer Mehul Choksi to be pretend due to some authorized technique,” Choksi’s lawyer in India, Vijay Aggarwal, stated.
Choksi’s household and attorneys have accused India of plotting a secret operation to get Choksi again, bypassing authorized procedures. They have alleged that Indian brokers kidnapped the jeweller on May 23 final 12 months by trapping him by means of a Hungarian girl recognized as Babara Jarabic. He was then allegedly bundled off in a yacht and transported to Dominica by two Indians—recognized as Gurmit Singh and Gurjeet Bhandal. His attorneys have additionally alleged that Choksi was threatened on his method to Dominica and requested to signal a consent type to be repatriated to India of his personal will.
On May 24, 2021, Choksi flew out of Dominica in an air ambulance and was acquired in Antigua by officers of the international workplace there. Choksi was granted bail on medical grounds. The court docket allowed him to return to Antigua as Dominica didn’t have the requisite services to offer him enough medical care. The growth had come as a severe setback to Indian companies which had moved court docket in Dominica to repatriate Choksi to India.
Though the Dominican High Court had launched Choksi on a bond of 10,000 Eastern Caribbean Dollars and requested him to come back again to Dominica following his therapy, a supply near the household had stated then, “He could be very unwell. His therapy could take a very long time.”
According to his London lawyer Michael Polak, this was carried out to deprive him of the safety of legislation that he enjoys in Antigua and Barbuda as a citizen of the nation. India has argued Choksi is an Indian citizen, whereas he has maintained that he ceased to be an Indian citizen when he took Antiguan citizenship in 2017.
Following his arrest in Dominica, a personal jet carrying officers from the CBI and Ministry of External Affairs had arrived in Dominica, ostensibly to get him again to India. However, after the case was dedicated to court docket on grounds of unlawful entry towards Choksi, the jet needed to return.
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With inputs from TheIndianEXPRESS
