THE INDIAN GOVERNMENT has landed virtually in Dominican courts to get Mehul Choksi deported. With its investigators failing to get their hands on the fugitive diamond trader, India has, for now, decided against dispatching a legal team to Dominica.
But the long arm of the law is after him, with former solicitor general Harish Salve (Queen's Counsel) using video links to assist investigators in untying the legal knots Choksi has created to stay put in the Caribbean.
India recently filed an affidavit in the Dominican high court—on behalf of the Central Bureau of Investigation and the Enforcement Directorate—claiming that Choksi was an Indian citizen who was fleeing the law. The CBI and the ED are investigating Choksi's role in the ₹13,500 crore Punjab National Bank fraud case; his nephew Nirav Modi is in a London jail in the same case.
Investigators are confident that Salve's involvement will not only pave the way for Choksi's return, but will also set a precedent for those who buy a new nationality to escape the law after committing fraud.
The ED is currently chasing another diamond trader who has given up his Indian citizenship for a Saint Kitts one. Another was trying for citizenship of Saint Lucia. The Caribbean, with its paid citizenship programmes, has been a favourite haunt of fugitives. Sleuths said facilities provided to passport holders of these tiny nations, like visa-free travel to more than a hundred countries, is a huge attraction for scamsters. Such citizenships can be retained by just spending a few days on the island.
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der June 27, 2021-Ausgabe von THE WEEK.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent ? Anmelden
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der June 27, 2021-Ausgabe von THE WEEK.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent? Anmelden
Trump And The Crisis Of Liberalism
Although Donald Trump's election to a non-consecutive second term to the US presidency is not unprecedented—Grover Cleveland had done it in 1893—it is nevertheless a watershed moment.
What Will It Take To Clean Up Delhi Air?
IT IS ASKED, year after year, why Delhi’s air remains unbreathable despite several interventions to reduce pollution.
Men eye the woman's purse
A couple of months ago, I chanced upon a young 20-something man at my gym walking out with a women’s sling bag.
When trees hold hands
A filmmaker explores the human-nature connect through the living root bridges
Ms Gee & Gen Z
The vibrant Anuja Chauhan and her daughter Nayantara on the generational gap in romance writing
Vikram Seth-a suitable man
Our golden boy of literature was the star attraction at the recent Shillong Literary Festival in mysterious Meghalaya.
Superman bites the dust
When my granddaughter Kim was about three, I often took her to play in a nearby park.
OLD MAN AND THE SEA
Meet G. Govinda Menon, the 102-year-old engineer who had a key role in surveying the Vizhinjam coast in the 1940s, assessing its potential for an international port
Managing volatility: smarter equity choices in uncertain markets
THE INDIAN STOCK MARKET has delivered a strong 11 per cent CAGR over the past decade, with positive returns for eight straight years.
Investing in actively managed low-volatility portfolios keeps risks at bay
AFTER A ROARING bull market over the past year, equity markets in the recent months have gone into a correction mode as FIIs go on a selling spree. Volatility has risen and investment returns are hurt.
