Mehul Choksi will be sent back after appeals: Antigua PM

Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister Gaston Browne on Wednesday (local time) assured that fugitive diamantaire Mehul Choksi will be extradited after he exhausts all his appeals in the country. 

"I can assure you that he will be ultimately deported after exhausting all his appeals. He will be extradited back to India to face whatever charges against him. It is just a matter of time," Browne told ANI. 

The prime minister said that the country is not interested in having him as he adds no value to it. 

He said that the Indian authorities have the "right" to come to Antigua and Barbuda to interrogate him. 

"They can come and if they wish to interview Choksi based on his willingness to participate, it has nothing to do with my government," Browne added. 

Browne said that it is "unfortunate" that Choksi was cleared by Indian officials as a person in "good standing" only to be told later that he is a "crook". 

"In any case, our officials acted based on the information from India and made him a citizen ...the Indian officials have to take the responsibility for that situation," he said. 

Choksi and his nephew Nirav Modi, who both fled the country a year ago, are key accused in the USD 2 billion PNB fraud case. Choksi was granted citizenship of Antigua and Barbuda on January 15, 2018.

On June 17, Choksi had submitted an affidavit in the Bombay high court, stating that he is residing in Antigua and was willing to co-operate in the investigation into the PNB scam.