Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], April 14 (ANI): After the arrest of fugitive businessman Mehul Choksi in Belgium, former Managing Director of Gitanjali Gems, Santosh Srivastava emphasized the need to recover defrauded taxpayer money and highlighted the broader impact of the scam on the jewellery industry, which he said has faced severe funding challenges since the incident.
Speaking to ANI, Srivastava welcomed the development and urged the Indian government to ensure his swift extradition.
“I was the whistle-blower who complained about a suspected fraud in the company. This is very good news that he is detained or arrested in Belgium. I would like to request our government and agencies that he should be brought to India as soon as possible and put through the process of law, and whatever is the taxpayer’s money which he defrauded should be recovered from him,” Santosh Srivastava said.
“I would also like to add that post his incident, the funding in the jewellery industry has become very difficult. You cannot judge an entire orchid by an apple. So the government should also work on easing the funding norms for the jewellery industry so that it can create employment for the people,” he said.
The former MD of Gitanjali Gems also called on authorities to be better prepared this time, recalling how Choksi had previously escaped legal action in Dominica.
“I heard that he was arrested in Dominica but fled from there using the process of law. I hope this time, the government and agencies are well prepared. Some recent instances are giving some encouragement where culprits of terror attacks are brought to India,” he said.
Meanwhile, Choksi’s lawyer, Vijay Aggarwal, stated that his “human rights” will be “greatly affected” if he is extradited back to the country.
During a press conference on Monday, Aggarwal stated that the defence team would challenge the extradition on two primary grounds: the political nature of the case and concerns about the proper treatment for Choksi’s health condition in India.
Earlier, Choksi was arrested in Belgium on Saturday after local authorities confirmed his presence in the country.
The 65-year-old fugitive diamond merchant who left India on January 2, 2018, is wanted by the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for allegedly defrauding the PNB of Rs 13,850 crore. His nephew, Nirav Modi, was also involved with him in the fraud.
Choksi allegedly connived with his associates and other Punjab National Bank (PNB) officials from 2014 to 2017 and fraudulently obtained Letters of Undertaking and Foreign Letters of Credit from PNB, resulting in a wrongful loss of Rs. 6097.63 crore to PNB. (ANI)
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