Mehul Choksi May Return To India In 3 Months If Medically Fit: Lawyer
MUMBAI, Nov 18: Fugitive businessman Mehul Choksi, wanted in a Rs. 13,000 crore bank fraud, may return to India in three months "if his condition gets better", his lawyer said.
The lawyer told a Mumbai court on Saturday that Mehul Choksi is not in a position to record his statement, news agency ANI reported. The 59-year-old had claimed he left India in January for medical treatment in the US.
"There is one option and according to that, investigation can be done through video conferencing. Officer from India can go to Antigua in order to investigate him. The third option is that if his condition gets better in three months and if his doctors allow him to, then he will come back to India to join investigation," lawyer Sanjay Abbot said.
The Special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court was hearing the Enforcement Directorate's request to declare him a "fugitive" under the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act. Efforts are on to extradite Mehul Choksi and Nirav Modi to India.
Appearing before the court, Mehul Choksi's lawyer said that they have always replied to all questions by the court on time.
Mehul Choksi and his nephew, celebrity jeweller Nirav Modi, are being sought by multiple investigating agencies after it was revealed that the two extracted crores in loans from banks abroad on the basis of fake guarantees in the name of Punjab National Bank, India's second largest state-owned bank. The two fled India in January.
The Enforcement Directorate had sought to declare Mehul Choksi and Nirav Modi "fugitive economic offenders" and clearance to confiscate their assets worth Rs. 3,500 crore.
The businessman was granted citizenship of Antigua and Barbuda last year and he took the oath of allegiance to that country on January 15.
Courtesy: www.ndtv.com
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Lebanon appoints new representative for talks with Israel, rejects linkage to Iran
Beirut: Lebanon’s has moved to underline its independent position in ongoing regional developments, amid attempts to link the country to the broader conflict involving Iran, the United States and Israel.
President Joseph Aoun, while announcing the appointment of former US ambassador Simon Karam as Lebanon’s representative in talks with Israel, made it clear that Karam would be the sole representative for Lebanon and that there would be no substitute.
The move comes in response to what the Lebanese officials see as efforts by Iran to tie Lebanon’s situation to the wider regional conflict. Iran had indicated that there would be no ceasefire involving the US, Israel and Iran unless it also included a ceasefire in Lebanon.
Some groups, including Hezbollah and its supporters, had expressed support for linking the situations, citing concerns that the Lebanese government has limited leverage in negotiations with Israel. Lebanon is not formally a party to the conflict, and its army is considered weak.
However, others, including Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, have opposed this approach. They view Iran’s stance as an attempt to influence Lebanon’s internal affairs and see it as undermining the country’s sovereignty.
Officials backing the government’s position say the move is aimed at reaffirming Lebanon’s sovereignty and ensuring that decisions about peace and ceasefire within the country are not dictated externally.
They also see it as a safeguard, so that any breakdown in talks between the US, Israel and Iran does not automatically lead to renewed conflict in Lebanon.
