Interpol Issues Red Corner Notice Against Mehul Choksi

Interpol has issued a Red Corner Notice against fugitive diamantaire and Punjab National Bank (PNB) scam accused Mehul Choksi, on the request of CBI, said media.

“The Interpol has issued a Red Corner Notice against Mehul Choksi on the request of CBI,” CBI spokesperson Abhishek Dayal said. Choksi, who escaped in the first week of January this year after he and his companies cheated PNB of Rs 7,000 crore, has taken citizenship of Antigua.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) had sent a reminder to Interpol about its application seeking a Red Corner Notice against Choksi. They said a detailed request for issuance of the arrest warrant against Choksi by the global police body was sent in June, soon after the ED filed a charge sheet against him in a Mumbai court.

On his part, Choksi had also appealed to Interpol against the Red Corner Notice (RCN) in September. Sources said that the Indian agencies had countered the objections raised by him.

On September 1, India had submitted a second extradition request to Antigua and Barbuda Government for the extradition of Choksi, who has acquired Antiguan citizenship.

The Indian High Commissioner in Guyana had visited St. John’s for the third time to meet senior government officials on Choksi’s extradition. That came after the CBI on August 27, through the Ministry of External Affairs, wrote a letter to the Antigua government asking them to arrest Choksi.

The probe agency, in the letter to the Antiguan government, asserted that India could seek extradition of Choksi without issuing an Interpol Red Corner Notice as it is not mandatory in the said process. It added that the notice is needed to locate a fugitive.