PNB Scam-Accused Mehul Choksi Surrenders Indian Passport In Antigua, Cites Jail Hygiene In India As A Reason

Fugitive diamond trader Mehul Choksi, who is one of the accused in the Rs 14,000- crore Punjab National Bank (PNB) scam has given up his Indian passport in Antigua. Furthermore, the businessman submitted $177 to the Indian High Commission in Antigua.

Choksi’s new address as per reports by New Indian Express is Jolly Harbour Marks in Antigua.

The Narendra Modi-led government is attempting to bring back the fugitive jeweller under an Antiguan law which allows Antigua to send back a fugitive to a designated Commonwealth nation.

Choksi has alleged that the ongoing cases against him are a ‘political conspiracy’ and has raised several questions on issues such as his personal safety and health in the jails of India.

"There is one option, and according to that, the investigation can be done through video-conferencing. An officer from India can go to Antigua in order to investigate him. The third option is that if his condition gets better in three months, and if his doctors allow him to, then he will come back to India to join the investigation," said Choksi’s lawyer Sanjay Abbot.

PNB was cheated by fraudulent issue of Letters of Undertakings (LoU) and Foreign Letters of Credits (FLCs), which resulted in the country's biggest banking scam at over Rs 14,000 crore.