Defence Minister promises to bring Modi, Choksi back to India

By

Isabelle Crossley

Published
Apr 2, 2018

The Union Government’s Defence Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman, has stated that both the diamond tycoons Nirav Modi and his uncle Mehul Choksi will be brought back to India to be properly investigated for fraud.

The jewellery business owners Modi and Choksi left India just weeks before news of their accused fraud at the Punjab National Bank (PNB) broke and have refused to return ever since. The pair's lawyers have cited security concerns and business abroad as reasons why they have remained abroad despite being asked to return multiple times by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and having their passports revoked. However, the government’s Defence Minister has vowed that they will not be able to evade trail.

Sitharaman recently spoke at the fourth edition of the Times Network's India Economic Conclave and said: "We have to be careful that the system doesn't allow such loopholes. Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi have not gotten away, they ran away and we will get them back."

As their current location is unknown it may be difficult to extradite them, depending on which country they are in but the government has announced its commitment to bring them home.  

The Minister Sitharaman assured that the government was committed to reforms, citing the GST as an example, and stated that there was no corruption.

After many had questioned the Prime Minister Modi’s close links with the jeweller Modi, Sitharaman was keen to assert that he would not be given special treatment.