Choksi and his nephew Nirav Modi are wanted by the ED and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for allegedly defrauding the PNB to the tune of Rs 13,400 crore apparently in collusion with few of its employees.
Choksi is one of the alleged masterminds of the USD 2 billion scam in state-run Punjab National Bank and is an uncle of fugitive diamantaire Nirav Modi.
Nirav Modi and Choksi defrauded the Brady House branch of the Punjab National Bank (PNB) in Mumbai to the tune of over Rs 13,000 crore) in alleged connivance with officials.
Foreign Minister of Antigua & Barbuda EP Chet Greene had a bilateral meeting with Swaraj on the sidelines of the ongoing United Nations General Assembly at UN headquarters in New York.
On May 22 this year, after taking cognisance of the second charge sheet filed in the Rs 12,636-crore PNB fraud case by the CBI, the special court had issued the NBW against Choksi.
PNB fraud case: Allegations false and baseless, ED has attached my property illegally, claims Mehul Choksi
Terming himself as a 'soft target', Choksi said that he has been made a sacrificial lamb for the "fault" of the state-owned PNB bank.
Congress alleged that the incumbent government has failed to take action against Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi despite having information regarding the fraud.
Choksi, who is currently in Antigua, claimed that "all the allegations leveled by Enforcement Directorate are false and baseless."
The RCN request was put on hold by the Interpol after a representation by Choksi during which he had alleged that the cases against him were a result of political conspiracy.
Choksi and his nephew Nirav Modi and others are being investigated by the ED and other probe agencies after the bank fraud came to light early this year.
In his plea, Choksi claimed that the Indian prisons 'violate human rights conditions'.
The agency has communicated to the ministry that it has already written to its counterpart agency in Antigua for the provisional arrest of Choksi, who is the alleged mastermind of the over 2 billion USD bank fraud in the Punjab National Bank.
Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister Gaston Browne had earlier claimed that at the time Choksi took the citizenship last year there was no case pending against him.
According to probe agencies, Choksi and his uncle Nirav Modi are the masterminds of the PNB fraud.
Last week, an Antiguan media report quoted the Caribbean country's Citizenship by Investment Unit (CIU) as saying that Choksi was granted citizenship there last year after a background check on him got 'no adverse report' from Indian authorities, including police, passport office and SEBI.
"The team met the Foreign Ministry officials of the island nation yesterday and handed over the request to extradite Choksi to India," an official source said.
The extradition request for fugitive diamond merchant Mehul Choksi, who has secured an Atiguan passport and is living there, will soon be sent to the Caribbean country, the CBI said on Friday.
Official sources said the Ministry of External Affairs has received the extradition request from the CBI and is currently in the process of sending it to the authorities in Antigua and Barbuda.
The CBI move comes amidst media reports that Indian agencies told the the Caribbean nation that there was no adverse information against Mehul Choksi when it did a background check on the fugitive billionaire before granting him citizenship in 2017.
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