Enforcement Directorate refused to share ‘sensitive details’ pertaining to the
Rs 13,600-crore fraud, saying that would mean “helping the offender.
New Delhi: A red corner notice (RCN) will soon be issued against fugitive diamond merchant Mehul Choksi, an accused in the Rs 13,600-crore Punjab National Bank fraud case, ThePrint has learnt.
Choksi, who along with his nephew and co-accused Nirav Modi fled the country earlier this year, has acquired Antiguan citizenship.
An RCN is a request issued by the Interpol to locate and provisionally arrest an individual awaiting extradition. It is issued by the General Secretariat of the global police body at the request of a member country or an international tribunal based on a valid national arrest warrant.
Also read: Like nephew, Mehul Choksi used shell firms to keep spoils of Rs 13,600 crore PNB con: ED
According to sources, the decision to issue the RCN was made after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) sent a stern response to the objections that were earlier raised by the Interpol in a series of mails.
“The Interpol had initially raised queries on ED’s request to issue an RCN against Choksi,” an officer said.
“In the first few mails they asked us to share a brief summary on the case, exact allegations against Choksi, some clarifications on the sequence of events leading to the registration of the case, attachments and evidence against him,” the officer added.
“The Interpol had also raised an objection to Choksi’s case being mixed up with that of Nirav Modi, while both were operating in individual capacity, heading different companies,” he said.
Sources in the ED said the investigators refused to share these details and sent a stern response to the Interpol saying that sharing such sensitive details would mean “helping the offender”.
“We clearly refused to share information as we had already given the required details in our request to issue the RCN,” an officer said.
An ED source said, “For the rest, we asked the Interpol to take the documents from the court.”
“All those details are matter of record and have been submitted to the court. Since that mail, the Interpol has responded in positive,” the source added.
Also read: A 2016 affidavit filed in Gujarat HC had warned about Mehul Choksi’s escape from India
The government of India has already sent an extradition request to Antigua to bring Choksi back to the country.
Interpol wrote to CBI
The Interpol had reportedly raised similar queries with the CBI and asked them to respond to Choksi’s concerns about poor jail conditions in India and anomalies in the agency’s case against him.
Even though both Modi and Choksi are involved in the same fraud, an RCN has already been issued against Modi on a request by the CBI.
Now, the Interpol wants to issue a separate RCN against Choksi because currently he is allowed to travel across the world on his Antiguan passport.
“Antigua, where Choksi is currently residing as a citizen, has refused to restrict his movements until an RCN is issued against his name, so it is important that the notice is issued soon,” an officer said.