Virendra Pandit
New Delhi: Absconding diamantaire Mehul Choksi, wanted for allegedly masterminding the Rs.13,500 crore Punjab National Bank (PNB) loan fraud scam, got the first shock on Thursday when a Dominican court denied him bail, easing his possible repatriation to India.
A Dominica magistrate denied bail to Choksi, who was arrested on May 23 for alleged illegal entry to the Caribbean island country, the local media reported.
In her order, Candia Carrette-George said considering the “severity” of the matter, she is not convinced that Choksi will stay in the country to face legal proceedings and adjourned the matter till June 14.
The accused claimed not guilty before the court and that he was abducted in Antigua and Barbuda and forcibly brought on May 21 to Dominica, about 100 nautical miles away, according to Dominica News Online.
The 62-year-old tycoon, facing a pending Interpol Red Corner Notice (RCN) against him, arrived in a wheelchair before the presiding Roseau Magistrate Court from the Dominica China Friendship Hospital, where he is undergoing treatment.
The Dominica High Court, which was hearing a habeas corpus petition filed by Choksi, had ordered him to be presented before the magistrate to face charges of illegal entry.
“Our stand that Mehul Choksi is in illegal detention as he was required to be produced within 72 hours before the magistrate and was not so produced has been vindicated. In order to remedy this, he has been asked to be produced before the magistrate. This establishes the illegal detention of Choksi as pleaded by the defense. Contrary to numerous media reports, there was no discussion regarding the Government of India,” Choksi’s lawyer Vijay Aggarwal said, according to reports.
During the hearing, the Dominica prosecution cited two main arguments to keep Choksi under detention—the RCN against him and the ongoing extradition proceedings in the courts of Antigua and Barbuda, where he is staying since 2018 after fleeing India.
Prosecutor Sherma Dalrymple told the court that Choksi is a “flight risk” and does not have any ties in Dominica that prevent him from fleeing the country if bail is granted.
Defense counsel Wayne Norde said Choksi was not a flight risk considering his health and the pending extradition proceedings in Antigua and Barbuda were also a reason for him not to leave Dominica.
Choksi’s lawyer also offered to pay a bail amount of Eastern Caribbean Dollars (ECD) 10,000, double the fine amount for illegal entry to Dominica, which Dalrymple urged the court not to consider.
Norde said Choksi did not have any criminal case in Antigua and Barbuda and the proceedings against him were civil in nature, which shows that he is a man of good character.
An 8-member, multi-agency team from India, led by CBI’s senior officer Sharda Raut is already in the Caribbean country to take Mehul Choksi back home once his extradition proceedings are cleared.
