Soon after the arrest of diamond tycoon Mehul Choksi’s Belgian police at the beginning of this week, his lawyer Vijay Aggarwal claimed that the entrepreneur was not a “refugee, but a cancer patient”. Aggarwal told the media that Choksi would attack arrests and oppose the application for issuing for “humanitarian and political reasons”.
“This is a political case. My client is not an air risk and is seriously ill. He is undergoing cancer treatment and constantly offers cooperation through video conferencing. His human rights will be seriously endangered if it is issued to India.
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Choksi, 65, is the subject of the probe of Indian investigation agencies – the Directorate for Recognition of Law (ED) and the Central Investigation Office (CBI) – VA £National Bank of Pandjaba National Bank (PNB) 13 500-Crore fraud that has been avoiding authorities since 2018.
Aggarwal, his lawyer, said his client was not classified as a refugee under Indian law because he remained in contact with investigative agencies and never avoided cooperation. “We have submitted several requests for the offer to join the investigation practically. Despite his willingness to travel back due to serious health restrictions,” he said.
The application is waiting for the court
According to Indian law, Choksi was not officially declared a refugee economic perpetrator (FEO). In July 2018, ED submitted an application for a FEO statement under the Act on Refugees of Economic Offenders. Choksi attacked a request.
According to the PTI news agency report, the action has been raising in a Mumbai court for almost seven years.
Choksi was arrested in Belgium after request for issuing Indian probes agencies, official sources said on Monday. Ed submitted an application in July 2018 and tried to declare Choksi Feo and entertain its assets under the provisions of the Refugee Economic Offender (FEO).
However, this matter was witnessed by repeated delays due to the firing of applications submitted to the accused in the PMLA and Bombay High Court, which concerned procedure release in the ED lawsuits.
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“The court is busy with frivolous applications and hearing for our request for his statement (Choksi) has been interrupted in the last seven years,” said ED officer after hearing was postponed again in February.
What does the law say?
According to the FEO law, an individual may be declared a escaped economic perpetrator if he has been ordered to be an order for a crime involving him £100 crore or more and he left India while refused to return. Once the FEO is announced, the person’s property may be confiscated by an investigation agency.
Choksi questioned ED’s request at the Supreme Court in Mumbai and claimed that the agency “before applying” did not comply with the correct procedure and therefore filmed “.
In September 2023, however, the High Court dismissed its action and ruled that Ed had followed the prescribed format under the FEO law. He also released his stay in a special court proceedings.
However, hearing about the Chorsi Feo statement could not begin. The latest attempt Choksi to stop the proceedings through an action for the notification of the announcement issued in the FEO ED application was rejected in December 2023.
Goi calls him a refugee
Choksi left India under suspicious circumstances in early January 2018, according to ED officials. According to people familiar with the case, it is referred to as a “refugee” in government documents and even in courts.
However, the Chors’ Council claimed that Ed had constantly moved its attitude to the material basis to declare him Feo and that the suspension of his Indian passport prevented him from returning to the investigation.
Ed claims that the accused left the country in suspicious circumstances in the first week of January 2018.
Nirav Modi declared a refugee
Choksi, a diamond trader and the Gitanjali Group owner is looking for in India in the context of SA £13 500-Crore PNB bank loan for fraud. Together with his nephew Nirav Modim, Chorsi is accused of fraud for PNB.
Choke, modi, Their family members and employees, banks of banks and others were booked by ED and CBI in 2018 for the purpose of committing alleged fraud at the brady House in PNB in Mumbai.
Nirav Modi has already been declared a special judgment as Feo. Modi has been imprisoned in prison in London since 2019.
Does it affect its release?
Choksi was arrested in Belgium after requesting CBI and ed – both agencies examined his involvement in the fraud of PNB. However, its escaped designation will not affect the release process.
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If he was declared a refugee, the status would seize the investigative agencies to seize the assets of Choksi in India and abroad, which facilitates further legal steps against him.
This is a political case. My client is not a flight risk and is seriously ill.
Choksi was placed in Belgium last year in Belgium when he went there on the basis of medical treatment. Since 2018, after leaving India, he remained in Antigua.
Choksi left India under suspicious circumstances in early January 2018.
(Tagstotranslate) Mehul Choksi
