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Complaint registered in UK against Mehul Choksi’s lawyer

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Complaint against Michael Polak, lawyer of Indian fugitive businessman Mehul Choksi, has been registered to the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) in England and Wales for having no evidence for his claim regarding the case of his client.

According to Writeups 24, the complaint asserted that Polak had no evidence on what he told to the media or registered a complaint to the Scotland Yard and War Crimes Unit regarding the suspected abduction of Choksi.

The complainant suggested that doing a KYC (know your customer) on a client is extremely important in the United Kingdom. At the same time, it appears that Polak failed at conducting KYC and AML (anti-money laundering) checks on his client Choki, who is a wanted fraudster by India.

Writeups 24 further said that the SRA might initiate an inquiry against Polak and his company seeking KYC, AML, source of funds and payment gateway in which he has been paid by billion-dollar fraudster Choksi currently arrested in Dominica.

Along with that, an inquiry is also expected to take strict actions against his statements and publications by Justice Abroad Limited defaming several people without furnishing appropriate proof fabricating the evidence.

Choksi, who is currently in Dominica facing trial, went missing from Antigua on May 23 and was caught in Dominica. He was charged with illegal entry into Dominica by police after he allegedly fled Antigua and Barbuda in a possible attempt to avoid extradition to India.

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The images and videos released by Choksi’s legal team purportedly show individuals including Indian-origin men involved in an elaborate operation to take Choksi from Antigua to Dominica on May 23.

Justice Abroad, the law firm has claimed Choksi was kidnapped with the help of a female acquaintance and men who gagged and tied him to a wheelchair and used at least one unmarked boat to transport him from Antigua to Dominica.

Polak had said the intention behind the entire episode was to “whisk away” Choksi to India by shortening the legal process. “The evidence, in this case, shows that Choksi was kidnapped from Antigua, where he had outstanding cases before the courts, and unlawfully renditioned to Dominica.”

“We believe that the aim was for him to be whisked away to India bypassing the proper legal processes in Antigua and Dominica.”

In documents and photographs, the legal team fighting the case in Dominica shows a few men who appeared to be of Indian origin on the deck of a boat that was allegedly used to transport Choksi from Antigua.

Two videos shared by the legal team show an unnamed boat allegedly carrying Choksi moving faster than the permissible limit of 8 kmph.

The legal team of Choksi claims that he came to the beachfront villa in Antigua of his recent acquaintance Barbara Jarabik in the evening of May 23 and soon was overpowered by a group of men who “rushed out and beat him”. He was “gagged and tied to a wheelchair” at knifepoint and placed on the unmarked boat.

Choksi’s team has been claiming that he belongs to Antigua as he acquired citizenship of that island in 2018. Meanwhile, Indian authorities told the Dominica High Court in their affidavit that Choksi is an Indian citizen and noted that he is erroneously claiming renunciation of citizenship under the Citizenship Act, 1955.

The 62-year-old fugitive is wanted in India in connection with the Rs 13,500 crore fraud in Punjab National Bank.

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REQUEST FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST

(CONSULTING SERVICES – INDIVIDUAL SELECTION)

 

OECS MSME Guarantee Facility Project

Loan No.: IDA-62670, IDA-62660, IDA-62640, IBRD-88830, IDA-62650

Assignment Title: Senior Operating Officer (SOO)

Reference No. KN-ECPCGC-207852-CS-INDV

 

The Governments of Antigua and Barbuda, Commonwealth of Dominica, Grenada, St. Lucia and St. Vincent and the Grenadines have received financing in the amount of US$10 million equivalent from the World Bank towards the cost of establishing a partial credit guarantee scheme, and they intend to apply part of the proceeds to payments for goods, and consulting services to be procured under this project. 

The consultant will serve as the “Senior Operating Officer (SOO)” for the ECPCGC and should possess extensive knowledge of MSME lending with some direct experience lending to Micro, small and medium-sized businesses, knowledge of the internal control processes necessary for a lending operation and the ability to design and implement risk mitigation procedures. The ideal candidate should possess an Undergraduate Degree from a reputable college or university, preferably in Business, Accounting, Banking or related field, with a minimum of 5 years’ experience in lending, inclusive of MSME lending. The initial employment period will be for two years on a contractual basis. Renewal of the contract will be subject to a performance evaluation at the end of the contractual period. The assignment is expected to begin on September 30th, 2021.  The consultant will report directly to the Chief Executive Officer of the ECPCGC.

The detailed Terms of Reference (TOR) for the assignment can be viewed by following the attached link below. 

 

https://bit.ly/3iVannm

 

The Eastern Caribbean Partial Credit Guarantee Corporation (ECPCGC) now invites eligible “Consultants” to indicate their interest in providing the Services. Interested Consultants should provide information demonstrating that they have:

  • An Undergraduate Degree from a reputable college or university, preferably in Business, Finance, Banking or related field; and
  • Minimum of 5 years’ experience in MSME lending. Applicants should also have:
  • The ability to design and implement risk management procedures 
  • Extensive knowledge of MSME lending with some direct experience lending to small and medium-sized businesses
  • Extensive knowledge of MSME banking operations
  • Knowledge of the internal controls necessary for a lending operation and the ability to design and implement risk management procedures
  • Experience developing and presenting information in public, including responding to questions in real-time
  • Experience lending to MSMEs located in the ECCU
  • Knowledge of marketing and communicating with the MSME sector
  • Ability to draft procedures to be used in a lending operation
  • Familiarity with the mechanics of a loan guarantee program
  • Exceptional written, oral, interpersonal, and presentation skills, and
  • Proficiency in the use of Microsoft Office suite.

The attention of interested Individual Consultants is drawn to Section III, Paragraphs 3.14, 3.16, and 3.17 of the World Bank’s Procurement Regulations for IPF Borrowers July 2016, [revised November 2017] (“Procurement Regulations”), setting forth the World Bank’s policy on conflict of interest. A Consultant will be selected in accordance with the Approved Selection Method for Individual Consultants set out in the clause 7.34 of the World Bank Procurement Regulations for IPF Borrowers. 

 

Further information can be obtained at the address below during office hours 0800 to 1700 hours:

Eastern Caribbean Partial Credit Guarantee Corporation

Brid Rock, Basseterre,

St. Kitts.

Expressions of interest must be delivered in a written form by e-mail by August 11th, 2021, to [email protected]

 

For further information, please contact:

Carmen Gomez-Trigg                                                            Bernard Thomas

Chief Executive Officer                                                          Chief Financial Officer

Tel: 868-620-8144                                                                  Tel: 869-765-2385

Email: [email protected]                                          [email protected]