Ahead of Mehul Choksi’s hearing in Dominica on Wednesday, Antigua and Barbuda PM Geston Browne said that the fugitive businessman’s lawyer belongs to the opposition party, who is working with politically vested interests.
In an exclusive conversation with Times of India, he said, “Choksi changed his lawyer to a well-known member of the UPP; former attorney general under the UPP, Justin Simon. We have it on reliable authority that he had promised Choksi protection, for campaign funding.”
“That is why they are so vehement, that he should not be deported from Dominica to India, but back to Antigua where he could continue to hide behind the constitutional protections of citizenship,” he added.
On October 14, 2019, the Antigua Government revoked the citizenship of Choksi.
Meanwhile, Choksi’s lawyer, Justin Simon, said he was not aware of any relationship between his client and UPP.
“I was appointed Attorney General under the UPP administration and served for 10 years from April 2004. I continue to support the Party but I am not an Executive or a Branch member. I am unaware of any relationship between Mr Choksi and the UPP or of any monetary donation by Mr Choksi as the PM claims, nor has there been any promise of protection,” he told Times of India.
A court in Dominica is scheduled to hear Mehul Choksi’s case on Wednesday over his extradition to India. Ahead of the hearing, the Indian authorities said they had gathered documents including his Aadhaar, Permanent Account Number (PAN) and ration card to prove that the fugitive businessman never gave up his Indian citizenship, according to a report by India Today.
“As per Interpol Red Corner Notice, Dominica can deport Mehul Choksi at any time as he has no legal rights there. But, If Dominican court found that Choksi was kidnapped & forcibly taken to Dominica, he’d be deported to Antigua as his country of origin,” said AP Singh, ex-CBI Director.
The hearing in Choksi’s case has been scheduled for 9 am (6:30 pm IST) on June 2.
Mehul Choksi was arrested on May 26 in Dominica for “illegally” entering the island nation from Antigua and Barbuda, where he had been living since January 2018. He is wanted in connection with Rs 13,500 Punjab National Bank (PNB) scam. His legal team, who were allegedly not given initial access to him, filed a habeas corpus in the Dominican court.
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