Major Setback For CBI As Interpol Takes Off Red Corner Notice Against Mehul Choksi

Mehul Choksi, the fugitive diamantaire who is wanted in a Rs 13,000-crore scam in the Punjab National Bank, has got his name removed from the Interpol database of Red Notices.

AFP

This move was undertaken based on his plea to the Lyon-headquartered agency, PTI reported.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) remained tight-lipped on the development.

The Red Notice is the highest form of alert issued by the 195-member country-strong Interpol to law enforcement agencies worldwide to locate and provisionally arrest a person pending extradition, surrender, or similar legal action.

Requests by the news agency seeking comments of the CBI remained unanswered.

Truth has prevailed: Choksi's lawyer

The decision of Interpol to take off the Red Corner Notice (RCN) issued against Mehul Choksi is a result of efforts of the legal team and the genuine claim of the ¡°kidnapping¡± of my client Mehul Choksi, his lawyer Vijay Aggarwal told ANI.

Ultimately, truth has prevailed, he said, adding, ¡°as the kidnapping attempt of my client is not approved by the international community, RCN issued against my client by Interpol has been removed¡±.

Red Notice was issued in 2018

The Interpol had issued the Red Notice against Choksi in 2018, nearly 10 months after he fled from India in January of that year to take refuge in Antigua and Barbuda, where he had taken citizenship.

AFP

Choksi had challenged the CBI application seeking issuance of Red Notice against him, calling the case a result of political conspiracy, sources said.

They added that he had also raised questions on issues such as jail conditions in India and his personal safety and health.

Sources said that the matter had gone to a five-member Interpol committee's court, called Commission for Control of Files, which had cleared the RCN (Red Notice) rejecting his contentions.

Separate charge sheets for Choksi, Nirav Modi

The CBI has charge-sheeted both Choksi and his nephew Nirav Modi separately in the scam.

In its charge sheets, the agency alleged that Choksi swindled Rs 7,080.86 crore, making it one of the biggest banking scams in the country at over Rs 13,000 crore.

Nirav Modi allegedly siphoned Rs 6,000 crore. An additional loan default of over Rs 5,000 crore to Choksi's companies is also a matter of probe under the CBI.

India's struggle to bring Choksi back

Choksi had disappeared from his sanctuary in Antigua and Barbuda in May 2021 to mysteriously appear in neighbouring Dominica, where he was detained for illegal entry.

Twitter

After news of Choksi being held in Dominica surfaced, India rushed a team of officials led by CBI DIG Sharda Raut to make every effort to bring him back based on an Interpol Red Notice against him.

His lawyer in London, Michael Polak, who filed a complaint with the Scotland Yard, said Choksi was removed from Antigua and Barbuda, where as a citizen he enjoys rights to approach the British Queen's Privy Council as a last resort in cases on his citizenship and extradition to Dominica where these rights are not available to him.

India's effort to bring Choksi back was unsuccessful as his lawyers moved with unprecedented agility to file a habeas corpus petition before the Dominica High Court which was admitted for hearing.

Their swift legal manoeuvres, coupled with an investigation into the circumstances of his disappearance from Antigua, blunted attempts of India to get Choksi deported from Dominica.

After 51 days in prison, Choksi, 62, was given bail by Dominica High Court in July 2021 to travel back to Antigua to seek medical help from a neurologist based there with a provision that he will return to face trial when he gets fitness clearance by his doctors.

Later, all the proceedings against Choksi for illegal entry into Dominica were dropped.

(With inputs from agencies)

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