Choksi said that the ED has attached his properties illegally.
Calling the allegations levelled against him by the Enforcement Directorate as "false and baseless”, fugitive diamantaire Mehul Choksi on Tuesday broke his silence for the first time on camera.
"All the allegations levelled by the ED are false and baseless. They have attached my properties illegally without there being any basis of the same," Choksi said.
The questions were asked by Choksi's lawyer in Antigua.
Prime accused in the over USD 2 billion Punjab National Bank scam along with his nephew Nirav Modi, Choksi is currently in Antigua.
He said that he also tried to revoke the suspension of his passport with the Indian authorities.
"The passport authorities revoked my passport altogether in view of which I was immobilise. On February 16, I received an email from the passport office which said that my passport has been suspended due to reasons of security threat to India,” he said.
“On February 20, I sent an email to the regional passport office, Mumbai, requesting them to revoke the suspension of my passport. However, I did not receive any reply from the regional passport office," he added.
Watch: PNB scam accused Mehul Choksi releases video from hideout
Choksi further alleged that he was not given a reason for the cancellation of his passport.
"The regional passport office did not give an explanation as to why my passport has been suspended and how I was a security threat to India. Hence, as my passport was suspended, there was no question of surrendering the same," stated Choksi.
His statement comes at a time when the Indian government is trying to extradite Choksi to India under the diplomatic provisions.
