danger to my life

New Delhi. The name of fugitive diamond trader Mehul Choksi, accused of fraud of Rs 13,000 crore from Punjab National Bank, has been removed from the wanted list of Interpol. His name was added to the Red Notice of Interpol in December 2018. Choksi’s lawyer Vijay Aggarwal said that the truth has finally prevailed. “Due to the efforts of the legal team and my client’s genuine claim of kidnapping and abduction, this attempt has not been approved by the international community,” he said. The RCN (Red Corner Notice) issued by the Interpol against my client has been withdrawn.”

Actually, Red Corner notice is issued by Interpol which is a strong organization of 195-member countries. This notice is the highest form of alert issued by Interpol to law enforcement agencies worldwide to locate and temporarily arrest a person pending extradition, surrender or similar legal action. The Interpol Red Notice was issued against Choksi nearly 10 months after he fled India and took refuge in Antigua and Barbuda, where he had taken citizenship. According to a Hindustan Times report, the Interpol in its order has said that there is a credible likelihood that the ultimate objective of abducting the applicant (Mehul Choksi) from Antigua to Dominica was to deport the applicant (Mehul Choksi) to India and bring him to India. There may be a risk in getting the right justice on return.

Indian agencies accused of his kidnapping
It has been told in the report that the Government of India has strongly opposed the removal of Choksi’s name from the wanted list of Interpol. However, the international organization Interpol was prima facie not convinced on the allegations of Mehul Choksi. Choksi had alleged that Indian agencies tried to kidnap him. People familiar with Interpol proceedings said Choksi had approached Interpol last year alleging abduction by Indian agencies and requested review of the red notice.

Mehul will abscond if his name is removed from the wanted list
An official said on the condition of anonymity that the removal of his name from the wanted list simply means that Choksi can now flee to Antigua and Barbuda, where the extradition proceedings are at a crucial stage. Significantly, the CBI has filed separate charge sheets against both Choksi and his nephew Nirav Modi in the scam. The agency, in its chargesheet, had alleged that Choksi defrauded Rs 7,080.86 crore, making it one of the biggest banking scams in the country involving over Rs 13,000 crore. Nirav Modi allegedly embezzled Rs 6,000 crore. Additional loan defaults of over Rs 5,000 crore to Choksi’s companies are also the subject of probe under the CBI.