Mehul Choksi, a fugitive jeweler who has been held in the Caribbean island nation of Dominica since May 23 for illegal entry, was granted bail today by a Dominica court on medical grounds. He can now travel to Antigua and Barbuda, of which he is a citizen and from which he had previously gone missing. The diamond tycoon had been residing there since fleeing India in 2018.
The 62-year-old is wanted in India in connection with a fraud case involving the Punjab National Bank worth Rs 13,500 crore. Choksi’s counsel said today that the high court in Dominica has now approved a consent order by his defense team and the state’s lawyer for him to travel to Antigua to seek medical treatment from a specialized neurologist there.
Choksi had filed a case in Dominica’s Roseau city’s high court, alleging that his arrest was ‘dictated’ by representatives of the Indian government, local media reported last week. The case was reportedly filed against the Caribbean nation’s immigration minister, its police chief, and the case’s investigating officer.
Choksi argued that the decision to charge him with illegal entry was unlawful and thus null and void, according to Caribbean media outlet Nature Isle News.
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