India pursues fugitive high-end jeweler arrested in Dominica

ROSEAU, Dominica (AP) — A wealthy jeweler sought by Indian authorities for questioning in an alleged $1.8 billion fraud case in his native India remained under arrest in the eastern Caribbean island of Dominica following a brief hearing.

Mehul Choksi is accused of illegally entering Dominica in late May after leaving the nearby island of Antigua, where he had been living after fleeing India. The 65-year-old recently pleaded not guilty, although the case is ongoing and he faces another hearing scheduled for Monday.

His attorneys did not return requests for comment. India’s federal investigators have been trying to extradite Choksi and his business partner, Nirav Modi, since they fled the country in 2018 and question them about an alleged $1.8 billion scam at a large, state-owned bank.

Modi, who ran an international jewelry empire that reaches from India to New York, with a string of high-end brands, is facing extradition proceedings in London. Modi, whose jewels once adorned stars from Bollywood to Hollywood, has been held without bail in London since he was arrested there in 2019. The two men are believed to have fled India in January 2018 before the alleged scam was discovered.