PM Browne must write to Dominica court, urges people from India

Antigua and Barbuda: Lawyers and the general public in India have urged Antiguan Prime Minister Gaston Browne to write an official letter to the High Court of Dominica explaining the revocation of his Citizenship in Antigua and Barbuda for submitting false information. People have requested him to provide more extensive knowledge on Mehul Choksi's citizenship status to the court in a bid to strengthen the case. [caption id="attachment_34951" align="alignleft" width="2340"] Mehul Choksi[/caption] Local media reported that the Antiguan Prime Minister Gaston Browne gained popularity in India after he supported Mehul Choksi's repatriation to India, where he is wanted in a $2 billion fraud. After Mehul Choksi was captured by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of Dominica, Prime Minister Browne had cleared that he does not want him back in Antigua and Barbuda. He had also referred to Choksi as a "liability."

PM Browne had demanded the Dominican authorities to extradite Mehul Choksi to India, where he defrauded the country's second-biggest public lender Panjab National Bank (PNB), with an immense amount of $2 billion.

While acting as the minister with the responsibility of citizenship, Gaston Browne revoked the citizenship of Mehul Choksi on October 14, 2019. A letter was also released from the office of the Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda. [caption id="attachment_34960" align="alignleft" width="1280"] Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda- Gaston Browne[/caption]

PM Gaston Browne had taken action under section 10 (2) of the Antigua and Barbuda Citizenship Act, Cap 22. The action was taken on the grounds of willful concealment of material facts and false representation to support the application for obtaining citizenship of Antigua and Barbuda.

Choksi's lawyers later challenged the matter in court, where he is now fighting for his citizenship and for his extradition to India.

Mehul Choksi became a citizen of Antigua and Barbuda under the Citizenship by Investment Programme in 2017, while his fraud came into the limelight in 2018. His lawyers in India told the Bombay High Court that he had gone abroad for medical treatment. However, it was later discovered that he ran out of India after defrauding the bank. Since then, Choksi had been residing in Antigua and Barbuda until May 23 2021, when he allegedly went missing and was captured by authorities in Dominica for illegally entering the country.

The Dominica High Court of Justice will decide Mehul Choksi's fate. He had pleaded "not guilty" for illegally entering Dominica, while the court will hear his "habeas corpus" plea have also been adjourned.