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Mehul Choksi proving hot potato for Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica gov’ts

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Business Standard: The case of fugitive diamantaire Mehul Choksi is proving to be a hot potato for the governments of Caribbean island countries, with Antigua and Barbuda asking the neighbouring Dominica to repatriate him to India, and the latter nation considering returning him to Antigua.

Sources in India said the government is making efforts to bring him back as soon as possible.

The fugitive businessman, who was residing in Antigua and Barbuda since 2018 after his escape from India, had gone missing on Sunday under mysterious circumstances. He was later “detained” in Dominica for illegal entry.

Choksi’s lawyers have raised questions over the claims of his escape from Antigua and Barbuda, calling it “abduction” by people who looked like Indian and Dominica policemen.

“Lawyers for Antigua and Barbuda and Dominica have been trying to have a legal interview with Mehul Choksi as per his constitutional rights in Dominica but they were denied any access to him,” Choksi’s lawyer Vijay Aggarwal said.

He said after a lot of effort, when lawyers met him he narrated horrifying details to them, saying that he was “forced” to get into a vessel from Jolly Harbor in Antigua and taken to Dominica.

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Aggarwal said there were marks on his body which showed that something was fishy.

“I guess it was a strategy to take him to another country so that there are chances of sending him back to India. So I don’t know what forces are operating. Time will tell,” he said.

They have filed a habeas corpus petition in Dominica, he said.

Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister Gaston Browne has asked Dominica to hand the diamantaire over to India directly, local media reported.

After news of Choksi’s arrest in Dominica came on Tuesday night (local time), Browne told local media that he has given “clear instructions” to the Dominican authorities to repatriate Choksi to India.

“We asked them not to repatriate him to Antigua. He needs to return to India where he can face the criminal charges levelled against him,” Antigua News Room, a media outlet, quoted Browne’s interaction with journalists in Antigua and Barbuda.

Confirming Choksi’s presence on its soil, Dominican Ministry of National Security said that he has been “detained” for illegal entry into the country.

“The Ministry of National Security and Home Affairs is in communication with the authorities of Antigua and Barbuda to ascertain some facts, including the status of his Antiguan citizenship,” it said.

“Once the information is provided by the Antigua authorities, possible arrangements will be made for Mr. Mehul Choksi to be repatriated to Antigua,” the statement said.

Choksi, who had recently fled from Antigua and Barbuda, was captured after an Interpol Yellow Notice was issued against him.

A Yellow Notice is issued by the Interpol to track missing persons.

A more stringent Interpol Red Notice, which seeks arrest of the fugitive, was already issued against Choksi on the request of the CBI.

Meanwhile, in India, authorities got into contact with governments of Antigua and Barbuda and Dominica over Choksi.

“We are in touch with them. Our interest in getting fugitives like Choksi and others remains strong,” said a source, adding the focus has been to bring them back to the country at the earliest.

Probe agencies are pursuing the matter through External Affairs Ministry to bring back Choksi to India.

Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister Gaston Browne said he has asked Dominica to hand the diamantaire over to India directly.

After news of Choksi’s arrest in Dominica came on Tuesday night (local time), Browne told media that he has given “clear instructions” to the Dominican authorities to repatriate Choksi to India.

“We asked them not to repatriate him to Antigua. He needs to return to India where he can face the criminal charges levelled against him,” Antigua News Room, a media outlet, quoted Browne’s interaction with journalists in Antigua and Barbuda.

Choksi is wanted in a Rs 13,500-crore loan fraud in the Punjab National Bank (PNB). Choksi and his nephew Nirav Modi allegedly siphoned off the public money from the state-run PNB using fraudulent letters of undertaking.

Nirav Modi, lodged in a London jail, is contesting his extradition to India after repeated denial of his bail by courts.

Choksi was last seen going for dinner in his car in Antigua and Barbuda on Sunday. His staff had reported him missing after his car was found. The businessman’s lawyer had confirmed that Choksi had been missing since Sunday.

The reports of Choksi gone missing created a flutter in the Caribbean island country after the opposition raised the issue in the Antigua and Barbuda Parliament.

Responding to the opposition, Prime Minister Browne had said his dispensation was “collaborating” with the Indian government, neighbouring countries and international police organisations to try and locate him.

Choksi had taken citizenship in Antigua and Barbuda in 2017 and fled India in the first week of January 2018. The PNB scam came to light subsequently.

Both, Nirav Modi and Choksi, are facing a CBI probe.

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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]