In just about three weeks, diamond dealing billionaire Mehul Choksi will know whether the court in Antigua and Barbuda will permit him to introduce his expert witness to challenge the validity of an extradition request from his native India, where he is accused of fraud.
Choksi’s lawyer Dr. David Dorsett confirmed that the hearing is scheduled to take place January 22, 2019.
Choksi, who is a citizen of Antigua and Barbuda under the Citizenship by Investment Programme, is wanted for an alleged multi-million dollar fraud on the Punjab National Bank in India.
In recent months, Dorsett filed a suit against the state. The case was heard before High Court Justice Rita Olivetti on November 14 and again on December 12.
Dorsett said the case for extradition cannot go forward until there is a determination as to what evidence can be accepted as it relates to Section 9(4) of the Extradition Act.
The section, which addresses the procedure and authority for extradition states “On receipt of any such request the Minister may issue an authority to proceed unless it appears to him than an order for the return of the person concerned could not lawfully be made, or would not in fact be made in accordance with the provisions of this Act.”
Dorsett has already indicated that if the appeal fails in the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court, he will advance the case to the Privy Council which is Antigua and Barbuda’s final appellate court.
Choksi, the chairman of the Gitanjali Group, is accused along with his nephew, Nirav Modi, of the alleged crime against the bank.
In February, a Blue Corner Notice was issued against Modi and Choksi. Then in July, Interpol issued a Red Corner Notice against Modi on the basis of money laundering charges levelled by the Enforcement Directorate.
Both men left India in the first week of January, weeks before the alleged scam was reported to the Central Bureau of Investigation.
Choksi is currently in Antigua, where, according to his lawyer, he has been under medical supervision for a serious cardiac/heart-related issue and is thus medically unfit to fly.