Mehul Choksi Alleges Orchestrated Kidnapping By India In UK Court Over $1.8 Billion Fraud Case

Fugitive diamond merchant Mehul Choksi has accused the Indian government of masterminding his alleged kidnapping from Antigua in 2021, asserting in a London courtroom that only India had the motivation and resources to carry out such an operation.

Choksi’s legal team presented their claims on Monday (16 June) at the High Court in London, where he is suing the Indian state over what he describes as a brazen attempt to forcibly repatriate him, Reuters reported.

The case revolves around Choksi’s controversial removal from Antigua where he holds citizenship—to Dominica, which he claims was an extrajudicial attempt to circumvent legal extradition procedures.

His lawyers argue this was linked to efforts to return him to India to face charges related to the $1.8 billion Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud, one of the largest financial scams in Indian history.

Choksi, arrested earlier this year in Belgium, faces extradition proceedings while simultaneously pursuing legal action in Britain, accusing Indian authorities of orchestrating the 2021 incident.

“The evidence points inevitably to India being behind this – they had the motivation, they had the resources,” his lawyer Edward Fitzgerald told the court.

India has consistently denied involvement. Harish Salve, representing the Indian government, submitted court documents stating, “There is no evidence of India having anything to do with the alleged events.”

Choksi has alleged he was physically assaulted and pressured to sign a false confession implicating figures within India’s political opposition, an act he claims underscores the politically motivated nature of the attempt.

The London court is currently considering India’s application to dismiss Choksi’s lawsuit on grounds of state immunity. Monday’s hearing, the first in the case since it was filed last year, focused on setting a timeline for that decision.

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