New Delhi: More trouble seems to be brewing for Mehul Choksi as the pending Red Corner Notice (RCN) request against the fugitive billionaire will be taken up by an internal committee of the Interpol next month.
According to sources, the 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 political conspiracy”, sources said. The fugitive billionaire, wanted by the Indian agencies in connection with the multi-crore Punjab National Bank fraud case, had also raised questions about jail conditions in India, his personal safety and health among others, they added.
“A five-member Interpol committee’s court, called Commission for Control of Files, which will next month examine contentions of both the sides and give its ruling on the request for RCN against Choksi,” sources said. The Interpol had already issued a 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 diplomatic chanxnel.
Meanwhile, the Interpol recently issued a RCN against Mihir R. Bhansali, right hand man of Nirav Modi, in connection with the PNB’s money-laundering case. The RCN, which is as an international arrest warrant, states Bhansali, CEO of Nirav 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.
