Antigua: The Antiguan Prime Minister, Gaston Browne, yesterday, said that Mehul Choksi the uncle of fugitive Nirav Modi and his co-conspirator is a crook and told that Indian officials are free to interrogate him.
Browne said, “Got subsequent information that Mehul Choksi is a crook, he does not add value to our country. He will be deported ultimately after he exhausts appeals. Indian officials are free to investigate based on his willingness to participate. ”
Mehul Choksi along with Nirav Modi had duped the Punjab National Bank of $2 billion and fled the country before the investigating agencies could get to them.
While Nirav Modi made his way to the United Kingdom to escape Indian law enforcement agencies, his uncle Choksi chose to seek citizenship in the island nation of Antigua and Barbuda, which lies in a corner of the Atlantic ocean.
Choksi got citizenship in January, 2018. However, Indian law enforcement agencies are tirelessly hunting both the fugitives and trying to extradite them to India. The efforts are paying well and both Choksi and Modi are now fighting in courts in the respective countries to prevent being extradited.