Antigua and Barbuda has offered India “full cooperation” on the extradition of Mehul Choksi, a key accused in the ₹14,000-crore Punjab National Bank scam, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said, citing an assurance given by Antigua’s Foreign Minister EP Chet Greene to External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj when they met on Wednesday.
Mr. Kumar said no time frame could, however, be given for the extradition of the fugitive who now has an Antiguan passport.
Mr. Choksi and his nephew, diamond trader Nirav Modi, are accused of masterminding the PNB scam. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government is facing criticism for not arresting them before they fled India.
Mr. Kumar said Mr. Green sought a meeting with Ms. Swaraj to explain the issue. “He personally wanted to tell the External Affairs Minister of the commitment of his PM and his government regarding the extradition of Mehul Choksi,” said Mr. Kumar. Ms. Swaraj is in New York for the 73rd session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).
Mr. Kumar said the Antiguan minister offered “full cooperation” within the country’s legal framework. “The EAM has requested him that quicker the matter is resolved, the better it is. Her counterpart replied that they’re trying their best, he said ‘there are some legal angles and court procedures,’ which they would examine,” he said. “These things cannot be given a time frame,” Mr. Kumar said in response to a question.
Walks tightrope on Iran
Ms. Swaraj met Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on the sidelines of the UNGA and discussed the U.S. sanctions against Tehran, the MEA said. Nuclear-related secondary sanctions against Iran were removed by the Obama administration as part of the Iran nuclear deal but President Donald Trump has withdrawn the U.S from the Iran nuclear deal and asked all countries to reimpose sanctions.
Mr. Kumar declined comment on media reports that India would stop oil imports from Iran and replace it with oil from the U.S. Ms. Swaraj’s meeting with her Iranian counterpart was part of conversations with all stakeholders in the Iran deal, including the U.S., he said, adding “Iran and India have civilizational ties.”
