The mysterious ‘disappearance’ of Mehul Choksi, the fugitive diamantaire and uncle of Nirav Modi from Antigua, his current refuge since January 2018 has made headlines. As per Wednesday evening’s updates, the Antiguan government has approached Interpol and other international police agencies in the Caribbean region to trace the absconding businessman, who along with his uncle Nirav was accused of defrauding the Punjab National Bank of close to Rs 14,000 crore. Although the escape is creating ripples and has rekindled public memory regarding the case, it should not be surprising since Choksi has proven his ‘talent’ in such acts before and it’s an established fact that people in India with money power can evade the long arm of law, at least for an indefinite period of time, if not for ever.
Now that the escape has come to light, the necessity of recalling the chronology which spans more than three years by now assumes importance. It was in November 2017 using the Citizenship by Investment route offered by the Antigua & Barbuda government, Choksi obtained legal citizenship and landed in that country in January 2018, immediately after committing the PNB fraud where the partner-in-crime was his nephew Nirav. 
The ‘flight from justice’ was successful since it was only in February 2018 the matter came under the scanner of Indian investigative agencies. But by then, it was too late as both uncle and nephew had managed to flee from India and taken reliable refuge in their chosen ‘safe havens’. It’s also a matter of fact that while Nirav stole almost all of media attention, Choksi remained in oblivion and was almost forgotten, until his yet another daring exit on Sunday. The news doing the rounds is that the virtuoso (needs to be understood in a negative sense) has probably taken shelter in Cuba- here again his talent to hoodwink was on display- since both Antigua & Barbuda and Cuba have no extradition treaties with India. The drama had a new twist when the Prime Minister of Antigua & Barbuda Gaston Browne called Choksi a liability to his country. The Antiguan PM minced no words in stating that his government wanted him thrown out long before and will extend full cooperation to the Indian government to make sure there’s an early extradition.
The perception popular among common people is that extradition of high-profile India businessmen accused of committing big financial crimes and safely sheltered in foreign lands is virtually impossible. However, if the will is strong, as a number of cases suggest, it’s possible. Reportedly, India is very close to clinching Nirav’s extradition from the UK after prolonged efforts. It remains to be seen how long it takes for Choksi. 

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Kenter Joya Riba

(Managing Editor)
      She is a graduate in Science with post graduation in Sociology from University of Pune. She has been in the media industry for nearly a decade. Before turning to print business, she has been associated with radio and television.
Email: kenterjoyaz@easternsentinel.in / editoreasternsentinel@gmail.com
Phone: 0360-2212313

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