Economy

Sushma Swaraj seeks expeditious extradition of Choksi from Antigua

Updated : September 27, 2018 07:51 AM IST

Swaraj met Chet Greene, foreign minister of Antigua and Barbuda who conveyed his fullest cooperation in the extradition process.

Mehul Choksi acquired the citizenship of Antigua and Barbuda in November 2017 and was administered the oath of allegiance on January 15.

Union External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj has sought an expeditious extradition of Mehul Choksi, one of the prime accused in the $2 billion Punjab National Bank (PNB) scam, from Antigua.

Swaraj met Chet Greene, Foreign Minister of Antigua and Barbuda, on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, on Thursday. Greene conveyed his fullest cooperation in the extradition process.

Choksi acquired the citizenship of Antigua and Barbuda in November 2017 and was administered the oath of allegiance on January 15.

Diamantaire Choksi and his nephew Nirav Modi are the main accused in the Rs 14,000 crore Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud case and had been on the run from prosecution in India.

An ED investigation has found that absconding jeweller Choksi diverted over Rs 3,250 crore funds, allegedly defrauded from a PNB branch in Mumbai, to foreign shores and he was in business of “highly inflating” prices of precious metals sold from his outlets. The businessman has rejected the charges as “baseless”.

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