Clearance to Choksi was carelessness on Indian officials part: Ex ambassador Tripathi

Former ambassador JK Tripathi said that clearing fugitive diamantaire Mehul Choksi as a person of 'good standing' shows the carelessness of our officials. He also added that this is a lack of information and it should not have happened.

New Delhi: After Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister Gaston Browne blamed Indian officials for clearing fugitive diamantaire Mehul Choksi as a person of 'good standing' only later to be declared as a 'crook', former ambassador JK Tripathi called it carelessness on Indian officials part.

Speaking exclusively to ETV Bharat, former ambassador Tripathi said, "first of all, a big carelessness was shown by our officials. Unfortunately, in this age of technology, the left hand of the government doesn't know what the right hand is doing. This is a lack of information and it should not have happened."Though the former envoy was quick to recognise Antiguan PM's assurance that Choksi, who along with his nephew Nirav Modi is prime accused in Rs 13,500 crore PNB fraud case, will be deported to India once he exhausts all his appeals.

Tripathi credited it an outcome of PM Modi's interaction with leaders of CARICOM (Caribbean countries) on the sidelines of the 74th United Nations General Assembly session in New York.

Choksi was granted Antiguan and Barbuda citizenship in January 2018. Passports of Choksi and Modi were cancelled in February after probe agencies unearthed a huge loan fraud at PNB.

There is no extradition treaty between India and Antigua. Several exchanges in this regard had taken place between both sides. The MEA spokesperson Raveesh Kumar had time and again said that the matter of Choksi's extradition is regularly taken up with Antiguan authorities.

Mehul Choksi in his written application to PMLA court had said that he is willing to cooperate in the investigation but denied returning to India as he fears mob lynching.