Let There Be Flight: AI Boeing With ED, CBI Officials May Head For West Indies To Bring Back Fugitive Moneybags

In a bid to bring back high-value economic offenders from the West Indies, officials from the Central Bureau of Investigation and Enforcement Directorate will fly to the West Indies, reports The Hindu.

A long-range Air India aircraft has been entrusted with handling the task. Diamond trader Mehul Choksi and Winsome Diamonds promoter Jatin Mehta have taken up citizenship in these parts. Mehta had taken paid-citizenship programme of St Kitts and Nevins some years ago, while Choksi has taken up Antigua and Barbuda citizenship recently. These islands provide visa-free travel to 132 countries.

Reports had earlier suggested that most of the high-value economic offenders had used citizenship through investment option offered by many of the islands in the Carribean.

The Hindu and other reports have also quoted sources from the investigative agencies as saying that absconding businessman Nirav Modi and Choksi will be picked up in the Caribbean, while Modi will be taken on the return route from Europe where he is reportedly hiding.

Lack of extradition treaties has often made these islands a haven for high-value economic offenders.