Dominica High Court denied bail to Mehul Choksi.
The Dominica High Court has denied bail to fugitive diamantaire Mehul Choksi in the case of illegal entry into the island country following his mysterious disappearance from neighbouring Antigua and Barbuda, where he has been staying as a citizen since 2018, according to local Caribbean media.
According to AntiguaNewsroom, the high court issued the ruling on Friday (local time), concluding that Choksi was a “flight risk,” had no ties to Dominica, and the court could not impose any conditions that would prevent him from leaving the country.
Choksi had petitioned the Supreme Court after the magistrate denied his bail application.
The promoter of Geetanjali Gems and other well-known diamond brands in India had fled the country just weeks before a Rs 13,500 crore fraud allegedly involving him and his nephew Nirav Modi surfaced at Punjab National Bank (PNB).
Choksi, 62, who has an Interpol Red Notice against him, mysteriously vanished on May 23 from Antigua and Barbuda, where he has been a citizen since 2018 after fleeing India.
He was detained in Dominica, a neighbouring island country, for illegal entry following a possible romantic escapade with his rumoured girlfriend.
Choksi’s lawyers claimed that he was kidnapped from Jolly Harbour in Antigua by policemen dressed as Antiguans and Indians and taken to Dominica on a boat.
On the orders of High Court Judge Bernie Stephenson, who was hearing a Habeas Corpus matter, he was also brought before a Roseau magistrate to answer charges of illegal entry, where he pleaded not guilty but was denied bail.
