Antigua prime minister Gaston Browne has said that his government is determined to revoke fugitive ex-diamantaire Mehul Choksi’s citizenship and to concurrently pursue his extradition to India to face criminal charges.
As per a report, Choksi who is now currently lodged in jail in Dominica, has been accused of funding the Opposition by the Antiguan prime minister Browne.
As per Browne, the main opposition United Progressive Party is being funded by Choksi and that’s why the Opposition has released a statement in support of Choksi.
Browne has also maintained that there has been no violation of Choksi’s legal and constitutional protections, despite the decision to revoke his citizenship.
“We live in a globalised world where cooperation among states is required to fight and defeat criminals,” said Browne.
Choksi is accused of siphoning off Rs13,500 crores of public money from the Punjab National Bank (PNB).
The Dominican government has confirmed that it has detained Choksi upon his illegal entry into the country. India too has confirmed its sending its High Commissioner, based in Trinidad and Tobago to Dominica on June 3 to seek his extradition.
India had formally sought Choksi’s extradition from Antigua in August 2018. It had stressed on principle of reciprocity, the one of dual criminality and the United Nations Convention against Corruption to which both countries are signatories.
In 2019, Antigua PM Gaston Browne had said that Mehul Choksi will be revoked and will be extradited to India once all his legal options are exhausted
