EXCLUSIVE: Court denies request of a private doctor for Mehul Choksi, next hearing on July 6

Roseau, Dominica: The judicial court in Dominica denied the request of a private doctor for Mehul Choksi; the next hearing is scheduled for July 6 2021. The Indian diamantaire again failed to appear for his hearing as his lawyers claimed of "poor health of their client."

Even though the local court in Dominica denied a request for a private doctor, Choksi still has a resort to appeal in the Eastern Caribbean High Court.

Mehul Choksi entered Dominica through an illegal route on May 25 2021. The court had been denying bail calling him a "flight risk" because of a red corner notice issued on his name by Interpol. Mehul Choksi's lawyers continue to present that their 62-year-old client is undergoing medical difficulties. He had been undergoing treatment in the Dominica-China Friendship hospital after the court orders on May 30. Choksi is an Indian fugitive wanted by the Crime Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Directorate of Enforcement (ED) and other top Indian investigative agencies for defrauding the Punjab National Bank worth $2billion dollar.

The diamantaire's lawyers continue to allege that he was abducted from Jolly Harbour through a joint mission carried out by the Indian and Antiguan authorities.

Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda dismissed the claims, stating that no "conclusive evidence" has been found to prove that Mehul Choksi was forcefully taken away from the country.

Mehul Choksi, an Indian origin jeweller and diamantaire, obtained citizenship of the Caribbean island of Antigua and Barbuda in 2017. He had been residing there ever since, but on May 23, he mysteriously went missing from Jolly Harbour, Antigua and Barbuda. After two days, he was discovered by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of Dominica from a beach in Roseau, where he was purportedly disposing off some documents. The fraud is believed to be the largest in the history of India.