Dominica High Court denies bail to Mehul Choksi, ‘he's a flight risk’
The court also stated that Mehul Choksi did not offer any strong surety before the court while he sought bail and he is a flight risk too, Antigua Newsroom reported. Choksi's lawyers argued for bail citing medical grounds and not a flight risk.
FollowMehul Choksi, the fugitive jeweller wanted in India in connection with the Rs 13,500 crore Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud, has been denied bail by the Dominica high court, news agency ANI reported on Saturday citing local media.
Judge Wynante Adrien-Roberts of Dominica High Court also highlighted that Choksi did not have any ties with Dominica and the court could not impose any conditions which will stop him from leaving the country, the Antigua Newsroom reported.
The court also stated that Mehul Choksi did not offer any strong surety before the court while he sought bail and he is a flight risk too, Antigua Newsroom reported. Choksi's lawyers argued for bail citing medical grounds and not a flight risk.
Dominica High Court also pointed out how Choksi proposed that he will stay with his brother in the hotel, but that is not a fixed address. The court also noted that his trial has not started yet.
Currently, Choksi has got interim relief from immediate repatriation to India by the Dominican court.
The court verdict comes a few days after Dominica Prime Minister termed Choksi as an "Indian citizen". "The matter with this Indian citizen is before the courts, the courts will decide what happens to this gentleman and we allow the court process to go through," Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit was quoted as saying in the local media.
Mehul Choksi was caught when he was allegedly trying to escape to Cuba from Antigua, where he had been living since 2018 after leaving India. He reportedly left Antigua and took a boat to neighbouring Dominica. With an Interpol lookout circular against him, he was caught by the police from a beach in Dominica.
The Indian government filed two affidavits in the Dominica high court establishing Mehul Choksi’s Indian citizenship and the serious nature of the fraud he committed on PNB, people familiar with the matter said on condition of anonymity.
"The matter with this Indian citizen is before the courts, the courts will decide what happens to this gentleman and we allow the court process to go through," Loop Jamaica News quoted the Dominica PM as saying.
Choksi had gone missing from Antigua on May 23 after going out for dinner and was soon caught in Dominica. He was charged with illegal entry by the police in Dominica after he allegedly escaped from Antigua and Barbuda in a possible attempt to evade extradition to India.
The 62-year-old fugitive is wanted in India in connection with a Rs 13,500-crore fraud in the Punjab National Bank (PNB).
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