Mehul Choksi in Antigua: CBI sents extradition request to MHA, which forwards it to MEA

CBI has sent fugitive diamantaire Mehul Choksi's extradition request to MHA and it, in turn, forwarded it to MEA.

Choksi, who along with his nephew Nirav Modi, is accused of defrauding India's second largest public lender Punjab National Bank (PNB) of $1.8 billion.

Choksi is currently residing in Antigua and Barbuda taking citizenship in the Carribean country to expand his business as the passport of the Caribbean nation provides visa-free travel to 132 countries, local media in Antigua reported.

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Choksi had taken the citizenship of Antigua in November 2017 after an oath of allegiance on January 15 this year, according to a local newspaper Antigua Observer.

After it emerged that Choksi had moved to the Caribbean country in July and also taken a local passport, the CBI wrote to Antiguan authorities seeking his whereabouts.

The Antigua Government has indicated that it may consider "a legitimate request" from India to send back Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi.

Nirav Modi and Choksi are being investigated by the ED and the CBI after it was detected that they allegedly cheated the Punjab National Bank of more than Rs 13,400 crore with the purported involvement of a few of the lender's employees.

The scam, which reportedly began in 2011, was detected in January this year, after which PNB officials reported it to the probe agencies. Choksi and Nirav Modi fled India in January this year nearly a fortnight before the scam was detected.

Choksi's actions show that he had planned his escape and subsequent life in advance knowing that the scam would blow up after the retirement of PNB employee Gokulnath Shetty, who was allegedly helping him with the renewal of letters of undertaking, sources had said.