Fugitive Diamantaire Mehul Choksi Withdraws High-Stakes Kidnapping Lawsuit in London

In a significant legal setback, fugitive businessman Mehul Choksi has officially dropped his multi-million-pound damages claim in the London High Court. The 67-year-old, who is the primary accused in the Rs 13,500 crore Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud case, had initiated the lawsuit alleging that the Indian government and several other individuals orchestrated his kidnapping from Antigua in 2021.

The Alleged “Honeytrap” Narrative

Choksi had built his case around claims that he was abducted in a sophisticated operation involving a “honeytrap.” According to his initial filings, he was lured to an apartment in Antigua on May 23, 2021, by a Hungarian national, Barbara Jarabik, who resides in the UK. Choksi alleged that he was forcibly taken onto a boat and transported to Dominica, where he claimed he was assaulted and threatened as part of an extrajudicial attempt to render him back to India.

The lawsuit named the Indian government and five individuals, alleging that they conspired in the UK to execute the abduction. All named defendants, including Jarabik, have categorically denied any involvement in the alleged plot. Furthermore, the Indian authorities and the other male defendants—among them Gurdip Bath, the High Commissioner of St. Kitts and Nevis to India—challenged the jurisdiction of the London court to adjudicate on these matters.

Financial Hurdles and Dismissal

The decision to abandon the lawsuit follows a strict directive from the London High Court. The presiding judge had ordered Choksi to deposit substantial security costs to cover the potential legal expenses of the defendants should he fail to prove his claims. Specifically, the court ordered him to pay over Rs 4.5 crore for the legal costs of Gurdip Bath and Leslie Farrow-Guy, and an additional Rs 2.7 crore regarding Gurmit Singh and Gurjit Singh Bhandal.

The court had previously expressed skepticism regarding the evidence presented by the diamantaire. The judge observed that the application relied heavily on hearsay, noting that there was no corroborating evidence to support the claims of kidnapping and assault beyond Choksi’s own testimony. After the businessman failed to meet the payment deadline, his case against the four male defendants was dismissed, subsequently leading to the total withdrawal of the claim against the Indian government and Jarabik.

Legal Troubles Continue

This legal surrender marks a major blow to Choksi’s defense strategy as he remains entangled in multiple international legal battles. Currently, the fugitive is detained in Antwerp, where he is actively fighting against a Belgian court’s extradition order that would return him to India to face trial for the massive PNB banking scam.

Choksi’s nephew and co-accused, Nirav Modi, has similarly been held in a London prison since 2019 as he navigates his own protracted extradition proceedings. As the legal walls close in, the abandonment of the London lawsuit signals a diminishing capacity for the accused to contest the extradition efforts through civil litigation abroad, potentially clearing a path for Indian investigative agencies to expedite his return.

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