Setback for CBI, fugitive Mehul Choksi's name removed from Interpol's 'red' notice list

In a major setback for the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and India's efforts to get fugitive jeweller Mehul Choksi back, the Interpol has removed its red notice against the key accused in the Rs 13,000-crore scam Punjab National Bank (PNB) scam based on a representation by the diamantaire, people familiar with the development said on Monday.

The removal of the red notice means Mehul Choksi can travel out of Antigua and Barbuda, of which he is a citizen.

A spokesperson for the diamantaire said the decision of Interpol to delete the Red Notice strengthens the claims of Choksi about his alleged kidnapping during his stay in Antigua, as reported by news agency PTI.

The absconding diamond merchant had claimed that he was abducted by Indian agencies, a charge denied by the government.

What is Interpol's Red Corner Notice

The Red Notice is the highest form of alert issued by the 195-member country-strong Interpol to law enforcement agencies worldwide to locate and provisionally arrest a person pending extradition, surrender, or similar legal action. The Red Notice contains information about the individual, such as their name, date of birth, nationality, and a brief description of the crime they are suspected of committing.

The Interpol had issued the Red Notice against Choksi in 2018, nearly 10 months after he fled from India in January that year to take refuge in Antigua and Barbuda, where he had taken citizenship.

Choksi had challenged the CBI application seeking issuance of Red Notice against him, calling the case a result of political conspiracy, sources said. He had also raised questions on issues such as jail conditions in India, his personal safety and health, they added.

The matter had gone to a five-member Interpol committee's court, called Commission for Control of Files, which had cleared the RCN (Red Notice) rejecting his contentions, sources said.

The CBI has charge-sheeted both Choksi and his nephew Nirav Modi separately in the scam. The agency, in its charge sheets, had alleged that Choksi swindled Rs 7,080.86 crore, making it one of the biggest banking scam in the country at over Rs 13,000 crore.

Nirav Modi allegedly siphoned Rs 6,000 crore. An additional loan default of over Rs 5,000 crore to Choksi's companies is also a matter of probe under the CBI.

Choksi had disappeared from his sanctuary in Antigua and Barbuda in May 2021 to mysteriously appear in neighbouring Dominica where he was detained for illegal entry.

Mehul Choksi repatriation

After news of Choksi being held in Dominica surfaced, India rushed a team of officials led by CBI DIG Sharda Raut to make every effort to bring him back on the basis of an Interpol Red Notice against him.

His lawyer in London Michael Polak, who filed a complaint with the Scotland Yard, said Choksi was removed from Antigua and Barbuda, where as a citizen he enjoys rights to approach the British Queen's Privy Council as a last resort in cases on his citizenship and extradition to Dominica where these rights are not available to him.

India's effort to bring Choksi back was unsuccessful as his lawyers moved with unprecedented agility to file a habeas corpus petition before the Dominica High Court which was admitted for hearing.

Their swift legal manoeuvres coupled with investigation into circumstances of his disappearance from Antigua blunted attempts of India to get Choksi deported from Dominica.

After 51 days in prison, Choksi, 62, was given bail by Dominica High Court July 2021 to travel back to Antigua to seek medical help from a neurologist based there with a provision that he will return to face trial when gets fitness clearance by his doctors.

Later, all the proceedings against Choksi of illegal entry into Dominica were dropped.

What is Punjab National Bank (PNB) scam?

The Punjab National Bank Fraud Case relates to fraudulent letter of undertaking worth Rs 11,356.84 crore issued by the Punjab National Bank at its Brady House branch in Fort, Mumbai; making Punjab National Bank liable for the amount.

The fraud was allegedly organized by jeweller and designer Nirav Modi. Nirav, his wife Ami Modi, brother Nishal Modi and uncle Mehul Choksi, all partners of the firms, M/s Diamond R US, M/s Solar Exports and M/s Stellar Diamonds; along with PNB officials and employees, and directors of Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi's firms have all been named in a charge sheet by the CBI. Nirav Modi and his family absconded in early 2018, days before the news of the scam broke in India.

The bank initially said that two of its employees at the branch were involved in the scam, as the bank's core banking system was bypassed when the corrupt employees issued LOUs to overseas branches of other Indian banks, including Allahabad Bank, Axis Bank, and Union Bank of India, using the international financial communication system, SWIFT. The transactions were noticed by a new employee of the bank. The bank then complained to the CBI, who is currently investigating the scam apart from ED and Reserve Bank of India.

On a later date, CBI named key officials Usha Ananthasubramanian, former CEO of PNB, executive directors KV Brahmaji Rao and Sanjiv Sharan in a chargesheet holding them responsible for failure to implement several circular and caution notices issued by the RBI regarding the reconciliation of SWIFT messages and core banking systems.