Fugitive Choksi Sues Indian Government over "Kidnap"
June 23, 25
(IDEX Online) - Fugitive diamond trader Mehul Choksi is suing the Indian government and five individuals, claiming they kidnapped him from Antigua and Barbuda in May 2021.
He is in custody in Belgium and is fighting extradition moves by India, where he is a primary suspect in the $1.85bn Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud case.
His legal team has now initiated a civil lawsuit at the UK High Court in London and a preliminary hearing is expected to take place in September.
Choksi, aged 66, is seeking damages for "kidnap, torture, and attempted rendition," in a move that could further frustrate attempts by India to have him extradited.
The Indian government has denied all allegations, objected to the UK court's jurisdiction, and invoked state immunity.
Choksi alleges that five named individuals, acting as agents for Indian intelligence (R&AW - Research and Analysis Wing ), lured him to an apartment in Antigua in a honeytrap plot, detained him, beat him, and then transported him by yacht to Dominica.
Choksi, former owner of Gitanjali Group, a major jewelry retailer with over 4,000 points of sale globally, fled India in January 2018, just days before the PNB scandal became public.
He had already secured citizenship of Antigua and Barbuda in 2017 through its Citizenship by Investment Program.
In 2021, he went missing from Antigua and was later found in Dominica, where he was arrested for illegal entry. He claimed he'd been kidnapped by Indian agents.
In April 2025 he was arrested in Belgium.
Choksi's nephew, Nirav Modi, 54, is also wanted in India for related charges and remains in custody in the UK, fighting extradition.
Screengrab from ABP News show Mehul Choksi in 2022.