Wanted Diamantaire Mehul Choksi Disappears on Caribbean Island
May 25, 21
(IDEX Online) - Mehul Choksi, the Indian diamantaire facing extradition over an alleged $1.85bn fraud against the Punjab National Bank (PNB) has gone missing on Antigua.
Family members are "worried and anxious", says his lawyer, after his car was found - with no sign of him - on the Caribbean island where he currently has citizenship. He was last seen at 5.15pm local time on Sunday 23 May.
There is media speculation on the island that he may now be in Cuba, where he owns a property. His wife has reportedly filed a missing person's report.
The country's prime minister Gaston Browne said in 2019 that Choksi's citizenship will be revoked and he will be extradited to India once all his legal options are exhausted.
Choksi, 61, who owned the now-defunct 4,000-store Gitanjali Group of retail jewelers, is a key suspect, along with his nephew Nirav Modi, in the alleged PNB fraud.
He is wanted by India's Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Enforcement Directorate (ED), and is being described in news reports as "fugitive".
Choksi's lawyer Vijay Aggarwal told the ANI news agency: "Mr Mehul Choksi is missing. His family members are worried and anxious and had called me to discuss. Antigua police is investigating. Family is in the dark and worried about his safety."
Choksi has protested his innocence and claimed allegations against him are politically motivated.
Pic of Choksi courtesy Antigua Police