PNB Scam: Fugitive Mehul Choksi claims he may be kidnapped again and taken to India
Mehul Choksi, who is accused of Rs 13,500 crore scam in Punjab National Bank, has alleged that he may be kidnapped and taken to India via Guyana
FollowMehul Choksi, who is accused of Rs 13,500 crore scam in Punjab National Bank, has in a video expressed the possibility that he may be kidnapped again. Speaking to a news agency, Choksi said that he may be taken to India via Guyana. Choksi, the most wanted from the Central Bureau of Investigation and the Enforcement Directorate, is currently at his home in Antigua.Â
To recall, Choksi had previously gone missing from Antigua in May this year. He was later caught in Dominica. Even then, Mehul had alleged that he was kidnapped and then beaten up by personnel of the Indian spy agency Research and Analysis Wing. Choksi said in the interview that his health is very bad and that he is constantly scared due to which he does not even step outside the house.Â
The fugitive said that his lawyers are fighting a legal battle in both Antigua and Dominica cases. India has been constantly trying to get Choksi extradited, but, so far, has been unable to do so. Choksi was granted bail by the High Court of Dominica in the case of illegally entering the Caribbean island country and allowed to return to Antigua for treatment. Choksi's lawyer (PNB scam case) Vijay Aggarwal has said that his client now had a neurological issue due to the torture meted out to him.
Choksi had committed fraud by rigging the stock market in 2013. An arrest warrant was issued against him, but he managed to escape to Antigua. Declaring him a fugitive, the investigating agencies have attached his assets worth Rs 2,500 crore so far. Mehul has made huge investments in Antigua and Barbuda and taken citizenship there. He was granted citizenship in November 2017 by the Caribbean nation under an investment program.Â
The legal team of Choksi, who left the country in January 2008, clarified in the Bombay High Court that the diamond trader had gone to Antigua for treatment and had not fled. Choksi, through his lawyer Vijay Aggarwal, had filed an affidavit in the court saying that he had left the country in January 2018 for medical examination and treatment. After this, he continued to express his inability to return to India citing health issues. Apart from Choksi, his nephew Nirav Modi is also accused in the PNB scam case.Â
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