Why the Interpol notice against Mehul Choksi was withdrawn, what charges he faces in India

Mehul Choksi is a key accused in the Rs 13,500-crore Punjab National Bank (PNB) loan fraud case. He fled India in January 2018, days before the CBI booked him and his nephew Nirav Modi in the case. He had by then acquired the citizenship of Antigua and Barbuda, and is since fighting the Indian government’s efforts to bring him back to the country.

Why was the RCN withdrawn?

A Red Notice, according to the Interpol, is “a request to law enforcement worldwide to locate and provisionally arrest a person pending extradition, surrender, or similar legal action”. The withdrawal of the RCN against Choksi — issued by the Interpol in 2018 — means he can now travel without restrictions anywhere in the world, except in India.

Choksi had appealed against the notice earlier too, but his demand was rejected in 2020. According to the CBI statement, in 2022, he approached the CCF, a separate body within Interpol that is not under the control of INTERPOL Secretariat and is mainly staffed by elected lawyers from different countries “to revise its earlier decision of 2020.” “…based on mere imaginary conjunctures and unproven surmises, a five member CCF chamber has taken a decision on deletion of Red Notice,” the CBI said.

Meanwhile, Choksi’s lawyer in India, Vijay Aggarwal, said on March 20, “Because of the efforts of the legal team and the genuineness of my client’s case, his RCN has been cancelled, and ultimately truth has prevailed.”

What charges does Choksi face in India?

Choksi is facing criminal proceedings by both CBI and Enforcement Directorate (ED). The CBI had first named Choksi and his firms, including Gitanjali Gems, in 2018, based on a complaint by the PNB over the issuance of fraudulent Letters of Undertaking in their favour, causing losses to the bank.

The ED also subsequently filed a complaint alleging that Choksi and others were involved in money-laundering the proceeds of crime in overseas accounts. Choksi has been booked under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act and other sections pertaining to cheating, criminal conspiracy of the Indian Penal Code and relevant sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act.

A similar case was also filed against Choksi’s nephew Nirav Modi, alleging that they both colluded with some staffers of PNB to perpetrate the multi-crore fraud.

In December last year, the CBI booked Choksi in a fresh case of loan fraud. In the new case, he has been accused of defrauding and diverting loan funds to the tune of over Rs 6,700 crore.

What is the status of extradition efforts?

Choksi has claimed that by virtue of acquiring the citizenship of Antigua and Barbuda, he has ceased to be an Indian citizen. Choksi acquired Antiguan citizenship just over a month before he fled India in January 2018, making use of the country’s Citizenship by Investment (CIP) programme, under which an individual can acquire an Antigua and Barbuda passport by investing USD 100,000.

Indian authorities, however, say that while Choksi may have surrendered his passport, India has not accepted this, and a certificate of surrender of passport has not been issued to him.

India had made efforts to bring him back when Choksi was arrested in Dominica in May 2021 on charges of illegal entry. Choksi had then alleged he was honey trapped and then abducted by “Indian agents”, who brought him to Dominica from Antigua and Barbuda. But the Dominican court granted him bail and allowed him to return to Antigua. About a year later, in May 2022, charges against Choksi were dropped by Dominica.