Antigua government has clearly stated that it will “ honour any legitimate request” with regard to the case of Mehul Choksi’s absconding away from the nation. As observed by Antigua’s ‘The Daily Observer’ newspaper, that the government will undertake all possible measures to ‘extradite him’
It had previously surfaced that he had taken refuge in Antigua. The Citizenship by Investment Unit (CIU) of Antigua & Barbuda confirmed that the business owner was granted citizenship in November 2017. On 27 July, the same newspaper quoted a cabinet press briefing issued by the Chief of Staff, Lionel Hurst to state that Antigua and Barbuda government would make every effort as per law to honour a “legitimate” request from India.
“However, if a request is received, we will honour any legitimate request made of us notwithstanding that we do not have any extradition agreements with India,” he said adding that, “that is the extent of our commitment to preserving the integrity of our (Citizenship by Investment) programme.”
Mehul Choksi was a businessman and the owner of the Gitanjali Group. An arrest warrant for Choksi has been issued in connection with the alleged Punjab National Bank fraud case. Allegedly involved in stock market manipulation in 2013, he was reported to leave the country and now he has resurfaced as an Antiguan citizen. In a report of 2017, by the Antiguan Citizenship by Investment Unit (CIU) to a local newspaper stated that the CIU had granted him citizenship after “robust internal investigation.”
The CBI has denied that Interpol ever approached it regarding background checks on Choksi, who was facing inquiries from various agencies last year. The CBI has also requested, India’s nodal agency for Interpol matters, to issue a Red Corner Notice against Choksi which is pending with the international police organisation and is likely to be granted soon.