Charge of illegal entry against Mehul Choksi dropped

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(Wanted Indian fugitive, Mehul Choksi, returning to Antigua from Dominica in July. (Photo credit Johnny Jno Baptiste)
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By Elesha George

[email protected]

The Government of Dominica has dropped all charges against Mehul Choksi for unlawfully entering that country in May 2021.

The High Court in Dominica discontinued the case against the businessman on Friday afternoon.

Observer understands that the decision by the Court to discontinue the case, may have been as a result of a police report completed in Antigua, which sided with claims made by Choksi and his wife that he was in fact kidnapped and taken to the neighbouring island.

Choksi maintains he was abducted from Antigua and transported to Dominica in May by agents of the Indian government and law enforcement in Antigua.

He has been living in Antigua since acquiring citizenship in November 2017.

However, some time between May 23 and 25, he mysteriously disappeared and when he was found, it was on a beach in Dominica.

After spending more than a month in that country, in July Choksi was granted $10,000 bail and allowed to return to Antigua and Barbuda for specialised medical attention, which his physicians said was not available in Dominica.

The report which led to the charge against him being dropped is a 19-page document dated June 25, 2021.

Observer has so far been unable to independently verify the authenticity of the written report, but a page has been posted to The Wire – a news website in India.

The article states that the document was submitted to the government of Antigua and Barbuda, but National Security Minister and Acting Prime Minister Steadroy Benjamin told Observer that the executive of the government has never received any report from law enforcement involving any of Choksi’s cases.

Antigua and Barbuda Police Commissioner Atlee Rodney did not answer our calls for comment, nor were we able to contact Prime Minister Gaston Browne, who is currently out of State.

The Indian-born man is wanted by law enforcement officials in India for his alleged involvement in a US $2.1 billion fraud scandal known as the Punjab National Bank Fraud Case.

The government of Antigua and Barbuda is currently in court with Choksi in an effort to have him extradited to his native country.

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