Mehul Choksi

Mehul Chinubhai Choksi (born 5 May 1959) is an Indian-born businessman living in Antigua and Barbuda, who is wanted by the Indian judicial authorities for criminal conspiracy, criminal breach of trust, cheating and dishonesty including delivery of property, corruption and money laundering.

In an interview, Choksi claimed that he is innocent and all allegations against him are false, baseless and motivated by political expediency.

Mehul Choksi was born on 5 May 1959 in Bombay, the son of Chinubhai Choksi.

He was educated at G. D. Modi College in Palanpur, Gujarat.

He has three children, a son and two daughters.

Choksi started his career in the gem and jewellery sector in 1975, and took over the leadership of Gitanjali Gems from his father in 1985, when it was focused on just rough and polished diamonds.

He owns Gitanjali Group, which includes Gitanjali Gems.

One of his daughters married Akash Mehta, an Antwerp-based diamond merchant in December 2010.

Choksi is the maternal uncle of fugitive businessman Nirav Modi.

His younger brother Chetan Chinubhai Choksi owned and operated a diamond company named Diminco NV, based in Antwerp, which had defaulted on a US$25.8 million payment to a subsidiary of ICICI Bank.

He was allegedly involved in stock market manipulation in 2013.

In late May 2021, he went missing from Antigua and Barbuda.

Choksi claims that he was kidnapped from Antigua by agents of the Indian state, while others stated that he fled the country.

After being found and arrested in Dominica under charges of illegal entry he was then returned to Antigua and Barbuda on interim bail for medical treatment.

In May 2022 the charge of illegal entry was dropped by the Dominican Government.

Investigations into his disappearance are ongoing.

In 2013, the bank litigated a lawsuit against Diminco NV, in commercial courts in Belgium and UK.

Choksi has held Antiguan citizenship since 2017.

He is the owner of Gitanjali Group, a retail jewellery company with 4,000 stores in India.

An arrest warrant for Choksi has been issued in connection with the alleged Punjab National Bank fraud case.

On 15 January, he took the oath of citizenship of Antigua and Barbuda, where he applied for the citizenship in November 2017 under the country's Citizenship by Investment program.

However, Indian authorities argue that he has not renounced his Indian citizenship.

On 17 June, his lawyer informed the Bombay High Court that he left India for medical check-up and not to avoid prosecution in the case.

Ever since, CBI has been trying to extradite him back to India.

In March 2018, a special PMLA court issued non-bailable arrest warrants (NBWs) against Choksi, and his nephews Nirav Modi and Neeshal Deepak Modi, owner of Firestar Diamonds.

They are suspected of colluding with two employees of Punjab National Bank (PNB), the country's second-largest state-owned lender, in an alleged $1.8 billion fraud.

At least six PNB staff and at least six employees of Choksi and Modi have been arrested so far.

Choksi is a fugitive of Indian government.

Choksi has protested his innocence in an open letter.

On 6 March 2018, the CBI detained Vipul Chitalia, the Vice-President of Gitanjali Group of Companies and a key aide of Choksi.

Chitalia was arrested at Mumbai airport and remained in custody till March 2018.

A designated PMLA authority held that 41 properties worth about Rs 1,210 crore, attached by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the name of Mehul Choksi and his associated firms, are money laundering assets and ordered that their attachment should continue.

The central probe agency provisionally attached 15 flats and 17 office premises in Mumbai, a mall in Kolkata, a four-acre farm house in Alibaug and 231 acres of land at locations like Nashik, Nagpur, Panvel in Maharashtra and Villupuram in Tamil Nadu, in February 2018 under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in connection with the about US$2 billion alleged fraud at a Mumbai-based branch of the Punjab National Bank (PNB).

On 7 January 2018, Choksi left India to the Caribbean nation of Antigua and Barbuda.

A few days later, the PNB scam was disclosed.

In December 2018, Interpol published a Red Notice against Choksi at India's request.

On 23 May 2021, Choksi went missing in Antigua and Barbuda.

He was last seen around 5:15 pm on 23 May before leaving his home in a car which was later recovered by the police in Jolly Harbour area.

A probe was launched to look for him.

It was reported in some sources that he may have fled to Cuba.