- Fugitive Mehul Choksi withdrew UK kidnap claim against India.
- Choksi failed to pay court-ordered security; claim struck.
- He faces extradition battle in Antwerp for PNB fraud.
- CBI deported Sandeep Mistry from UAE for PNB probe.
Fugitive diamond businessman Mehul Choksi has withdrawn his multi-million-pound damages claim against the Indian government and others at the London High Court, where he had alleged that a conspiracy was hatched to kidnap him from Antigua in 2021 and take him to India. The 67-year-old had accused the Indian government and five individuals of conspiring to abduct, torture and unlawfully transfer him to India. Choksi is wanted in connection with the Punjab National Bank fraud case involving allegations of fraud worth thousands of crores. He is currently in custody in Antwerp and is challenging a Belgian court order relating to his extradition to India.
Choksi’s Kidnap Allegation
Choksi’s case centred on events of May 23, 2021, when he disappeared from Antigua and was later located in Dominica.
He alleged that Barbara Jarabik, a Hungarian national living in the UK, lured him to an apartment in Antigua as part of what he described as a “honey trap”. According to his account, he was subsequently forced onto a boat and taken to Dominica.
Choksi alleged that he was assaulted and threatened during the episode and maintained that the alleged operation was organised in the UK. He further claimed that the five individuals involved travelled to Antigua as part of the alleged plan.
The Indian government rejected the allegations of kidnapping and extrajudicial rendition. The defendants named in the proceedings, including Jarabik, also denied wrongdoing. They challenged the jurisdiction of the UK court, while the Indian government invoked state immunity.
£677,000 Security Order
The case took a significant turn after the London High Court ordered Choksi to provide security for the legal costs of four male defendants.
The court ordered security totalling £677,000. Of that amount, £425,000 related to Gurdip Bath, who is now St Christopher and Nevis’ high commissioner to India, and Leslie Farrow-Guy, a British national and former driver of Bath. Another £252,000 related to Gurmit Singh and Gurjit Singh Bhandal.
Choksi failed to provide the required security by the deadline. His claim against the four male defendants was consequently struck out, following which he discontinued the proceedings against the Indian government and Jarabik as well.
The judge had also noted concerns about the evidence supporting the case, including that much of the material relied upon was hearsay and that there was no witness evidence concerning the alleged kidnapping and assault apart from Choksi’s own account.
Choksi Still Faces Extradition Battle
The London proceedings formed part of Choksi’s broader legal battles outside India. He remains in Antwerp, where he is challenging proceedings linked to India’s efforts to secure his return in connection with the PNB fraud case.
Choksi has denied the allegations against him.
His nephew Nirav Modi is also facing proceedings in the UK in connection with the PNB fraud case, which involved alleged fraudulent transactions linked to companies associated with the jeweller.
CBI Brings Nirav Modi Aide To India
Separately, the Central Bureau of Investigation has secured the deportation of Sandeep Mistry from the United Arab Emirates to India in connection with the PNB fraud investigation involving fugitive businessman Nirav Modi.
Mistry was brought to Mumbai late on September 28 and arrested by the CBI the following day. He was subsequently produced before a special CBI court, which remanded him to judicial custody until October 6.
According to the CBI, Mistry allegedly acted as a key link between several entities and supervised their day-to-day operations. The agency has also accused him of using self-deleting communication platforms to conceal evidence, facilitating allegedly forged import-export documents and participating in the movement of funds through Dubai-based dummy companies.
The CBI said an Interpol Red Notice against Mistry was issued in July 2026 at its request. UAE authorities subsequently located and arrested him, after which deportation proceedings were initiated. The agency said he was brought back to India within about two months of the Red Notice.
