New Delhi: Fugitive diamond trader Mehul Choksi has reached Antigua and Barbuda after getting bail in Dominica. He was detained there for 51 days on charges of illegal entry into Dominica. After absconding from India, Choksi has been living in Antigua and Barbuda since 2018, he has also taken citizenship there. Choksi is accused of illegally entering Dominica, while his lawyers have claimed that it was a conspiracy to kidnap her.
The Dominica High Court has granted bail to Choksi (62) for his treatment. The court allowed Choksi to travel to Antigua after paying 10,000 Eastern Caribbean dollars (about Rs.2.75 lac) Choksi had also presented his medical report, which included a ‘CT scan’, in the court seeking bail. In the report, there was talk of worsening of his ‘hematoma’ (a disease related to the brain). Doctors had advised an immediate review of Choksi’s medical condition by a ‘neurologist’ and a ‘neurosurgical’ consultant.
The CT scan report, dated 29 June, was signed by Yerandi Galle Gutierrez and René Gilbert Veranes, physicians at the Princess Margaret Hospital in Dominica. It was said in the report, “These treatment facilities are currently not available in Dominica…” Significantly, diamond trader Mehul Choksi, who wanted in the Rs 13,500 crore scam involving Punjab National Bank (PNB), was suspected to be from Antigua and Barbuda on 23 May. disappeared under the circumstances. She was later detained for illegally entering neighboring Dominica. Choksi’s lawyers have alleged that she was abducted by some policemen from Antigua’s Jolie Harbor on May 23. These policemen, who appeared to be citizens of Antigua and India, took him on a ferry to Dominica.
