Mumbai: Fugitive diamond merchant Mehul Choksi’s name has been removed from Interpol’s ‘red notice’ in connection with the Rs 13,000 crore scam in Punjab National Bank. The move was taken on the basis of a petition filed by Choksi at the Interpol headquarters in Lyon, France. On the other hand, CBI has kept silent on all these developments.
Interpol issued a red notice against Choksi in 2028. The notice was issued almost 10 months after absconding from India. In the same year, Choksi received citizenship of Antigua and Barbuda.
Choksi had challenged the CBI’s application to issue a red notice against him, saying the case was the result of a political conspiracy. Choksi had also raised issues such as prison conditions in India, his personal safety and health in his petition. According to reports, after Choksi’s plea, the case went to the court of a five-member Interpol committee. This committee is called the Commission for Controlling Files. After that, the committee has cancelled the red notice after the hearing.
Choksi mysteriously disappeared from Antigua and Barbuda in May 2021. After this it was seen in the neighboring country of Dominica. There he was detained on charges of entering the country illegally. After news of Choksi’s capture in Dominica surfaced, India made all-out efforts to bring him back on the basis of an Interpol Red Notice against him.
A team of officials led by CBI DIG Sharda Raut also went there, but his lawyers filed a petition in the Dominica High Court, which was also accepted. In such a situation, Choksi could not be brought to India. After 51 days in prison there, Choksi was released on bail in July 2021.
Mehul Choksi and his nephew Nirav Modi are accused of committing a scam of over Rs 14,000 crore in connivance with officials of Punjab National Bank’s Brady House branch in Mumbai. During the period 2011 to 2018, the amount was transferred to foreign accounts through fake Letter of Undertakings (LoU). The CBI had filed a separate charge sheet against both Choksi and Nirav Modi in this scam.
