New Delhi: More trouble seems to be brewing for Mehul Choksi, as an internal committee of the Interpol will take up the pending Red Corner Notice (RCN) request against the fugitive billionaire next month.
According to sources, Indian investigative agencies have made a strong case against Choksi and urged the Interpol to issue the pending RCN against him at the earliest. “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 a political conspiracy,” sources said.
Choksi had also raised questions about jail conditions in India, his personal safety and health among others, they added. “A five-member Inte-rpol committee’s court, called the Commission for Control of Files, which will next month examine contentions of both the sides and give its ruling on the RCN issue,” sources said.
The Interpol had already issued an RCN against Choksi’s nephew Nirav Modi who was allegedly his partner-in-crime and has been located in the United Kingdom after he fled from India in the first week of January this year. After his location was confirmed, Indian investigative agencies sent an extradition request against Nirav Modi to the authorities concerned in the UK through the diplomatic channel.
Meanwhile, the Interpol recently issued an RCN against Mihir R. Bhansali, a right-hand man of Modi, in connection with the PNB’s money-laundering case. The RCN, which is as an international arrest warrant, states Bhansali, CEO of Modi’s jewellery firm in the USA, Firestar International, is wanted by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on charges of money laundering. The ED had informed the Interpol that Bhansali was likely to visit the US, the UK, Hong Kong, China or the UAE.
