We have nothing to hide about Choksi – Gaston Browne

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DNO:The twin-island nation of Antigua and Barbuda had no role to play in the alleged abduction of Indian Diamond Tycoon Mehul Choksi. CLICK HERE TO JOIN OUR WHATSAPP GROUP.

That’s the word from that country’s prime minister, Gaston Browne, who told parliamentarians Tuesday that his government has nothing to hide.

Spokespersons for Choksi accused the governments of India, Antigua and Barbuda, and Dominica of playing a role in the alleged abduction which involved multiple operators and high-speed boats.

But Browne said his government never facilitated Choksi’s disappearance.

“It is true that I would have stated publicly that our preference would have been for him to be repatriated directly to India from Dominica, but that was on the basis that he skipped the island. At that time, we had no information or the slightest speculation that he may have been abducted,” Browne said.

Furthermore, Browne said if the Indian government needed the help of Antigua and Barbuda in that regard, there would not be the need for a third party to get Choksi out of the country.

“There is no way that we would have been involved in any decision or any attempt to have him removed from the state illegally. If he wasn’t a citizen, he would have been made a persona non grata and you would be assured that before law enforcement would have gone for him, there would have been a plane on the tarmac to take him back to India,” he said

Choksi was taken into custody in Dominica, in May last year after he went missing from Antigua and Barbuda, where he claimed he was kidnapped and beaten in the process

He was charged for illegal entry into Dominica, however, the charges were dropped recently, following a detailed police report from Antigua and Barbuda, which Browne said still has not been shared with the AG or any member of his cabinet.

“This is a matter before law enforcement which will end up in court. The less said, the better,” Browne said

Furthermore, he recalled, that when “Choksi was first reported missing, “the concern of myself is that we would have been accused of facilitating his escape, so we got on to the police and asked them to issue a missing person notice to Interpol…”.

Choksi is an Indian businessman and the owner of Gitanjali Group, a retail jewelry firm with 4,000 stores in India.

Choksi is currently residing in Antigua and Barbuda where he holds citizenship.

Choksi, along with his nephew Nirav Modi, is wanted by Indian authorities in the Punjab National Bank (PNB) scam where it is alleged that the duo defrauded the bank of more than two billion dollars

An arrest warrant has been issued against Choksi and he is wanted in India for criminal conspiracy, criminal breach of trust, cheating and dishonesty including delivery of property, corruption, and money laundering. — DNO

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29 COMMENTS

  1. More “dead cat” 🐈 narrative from our esteemed Prime Minister, to distract the electorate from his poor economic mismanagement and water supply problems … PURE DEFLECTION!

    To be fair, you know you’ve got the “generational” ABLP suppoters in your pocket, but you can’t FOOL the rest of the populous.

    • Brixtonian, you know & I know that there is no need for the PM to fool the masses. His track record speaks for itself unlike Mr Lovell track record & UPP who thrives on LIES, HATE & DECIEPT..

  2. It makes sense that Antigua was not involved in Choksi’s abduction. It would be a sloppy move to get involved with such a plot. Our administration is not that limited in its thought process. Despite the fact we wanted to see the back of the Indian absconder, collaborating with others in illegal decisions is not who we are.

    • @Dave Ray…are you calling the members of the RPFAB liars?
      Please, at the very least, try and make some logical sense for while your thoughts may make sense to you, not all of us swallowed, the asinine pill.

    • Tell that to Brixtonian and the other Gaston haters.
      Gaston has already make up his mind. Chocksie is not welcome in Antigua as long as he Gaston is Prime Minister. As soon as he has exhausted his legal options it’s home he is going. Time longer then rope

      • @From The Sideline…
        Choksi wins all the way, to the Privy Council. Then, what is Gaston gonna say, Shaggy, “it wasn’t me?”
        Did Gaston lie when he allegedly claim Choksi went to Dominica with his girlfriend? Or, he was covering Cutie’s ass?

    • @Dave Ray: I see you have a lot of confidence in this Administration.I really wondered why. What did they promise you again? Since the last election you were supposed to be given a position in New York.What has become of that? You were on Hillary “Computer” Clinton Campaign Team in New York.What happened why she got her arse beaten by Donald Trump.Is she thinking of coming back again? Are you going to be on her Campaign Team again? When the facts do come out in the Mehul Choksi matter.I hope you do not choke on your words.

    • Dave Ray, the Prime Minister says: ” It wasn’t me” and without asking hard questions, you accept it. You are a simpleton. No interrogational skills, no analytical inspection, no critical thinking skills have been applied to your conclusion. I guess you have not heard the Prime Minister’s utterances on the topic. Maybe you have not read the widely circulated police report or maybe, just maybe you are still looking for a job.

  3. Now the elements of the scheme are being used to deceive. Read Gaston words carefully. One line that caught my attention is “….the less said. The better.”

    Run you mouth. You lub fu chat. You’re a word salad away from the inevitable.

    We counting down to September when will be available 24/7.

    You are going to need it to HYDRATE after the Burt whopping from UPP!

  4. Dave Ray what are your reasons for saying that it make sense that Antigua would not have been involved in the abduction of Choksi. You have made such a bold and categorical statement without any evidence. I am very happy to hear that Antigua has nothing to hide re the Choksi international scandal according to the Prime Minister. That being the case, the police in its report on the Choksi abduction recommended that the investigation continues into St. Lucia, Dominica and the involvement of INTERPOL. Now, since the Prime Minister is so sure that we have nothing to hide he should be very supportive of the police recommendations. A question for you Dave Ray, do you find it logical that the Prime Minister and the Attorney General would not know anything about the police Choksi report as they both stated in Parliament on Monday? This country of Antigua is rather peculiar.

    • @Charles Tabor, can you spell P-E-R-V-E-R-S-E?

      “A notice of appeal has been filed against a magistrate’s recent ruling that George Wehner, an aspiring politician, was guilty of battery in relation to a confrontation with a policeman.
      The legal step was taken yesterday morning in the High Court by attorneys Charlesworth Tabor and Leon Chaku Symister, who both described the decision as “PERVERSE” last week.

      Tabor later withdrew the comment and apologised, saying that on reflection IT WAS AN ATTACK ON THE INTEGRITY OF THE COURT/JUDICIARY and he did not mean to do so.

      But, in the appeal notice filed Monday, he AGAIN REFERRED TO THE RULING as “PERVERSE” one and asked the High Court to give him permission to challenge it, stating that he continues to disagree with the outcome against Wehner.”

      https://antiguaobserver.com/tabor-appeals-for-wehner/

      • Hmmmmm. Yes the decision of the Magistrate was PERVERSE. Wehner and a co-accused was charge with the same offence of assault and battery on a police. The facts and surrounding circumstances were similar for both Defendants, however, Wehner was found guilty and the co-accused not guilty. My apology does not change the fact that the decision was PERVERSE.

    • Do you believe that in Antigua the police are Independent? And that there is separation of the three branches of our state?
      Why would the PM or the AG get involved in police matters? Other than when being informed as a matter under National Security. That is how he got to know about Asot Michael’s corruption frauds. And, having sworn to confidentiality, do you think he should disclose all information he has publicly?
      Use the little brain you have left not to try score cheap political points. Makes you looks stupid

      • FROM THE SIDELINE you guys are becoming experts as putting out false narratives and misleading statements. No one expects the Prime Minister and Attorney General to be involved in police investigations. Investigations are for la w enforcement. However, the Prime Minister and Attorney General are briefed by the Commissioner of Police daily on activities in the country. The Choksi matter is not just a matter of national security but international security. Now FROM THE SIDELINE do you want to tell me that a matter as important as the Choksi matter that the Prime Minister and Attorney General were not briefed and furnished with the police report. In that report the police is requesting the implementation of certain recommendations. How can those recommendations be implemented if the government does not know of them. I say that the Prime Minister and the Attorney General lied in Parliament when they acted as if they knew nothing of the police report into the Choksi matter. All these examples just underscore the misgovernance and maladministration that exist in this country.

        • Do the police need the approval of the government to proceed with any investigation? I think not. Leave the executive out of Police matters.
          You tried that with the murder of the custom officer.
          That is not how our system of governance works

          • FROM THE SIDELINE it really seems as if you never get the gist of an argument and then tailor your response appropriately. Nobody is suggesting that the Executive get involved in police matters (although they do all the time clandestinely). The police is the organization in the State that is charged with the responsibility of criminal investigations. However, there are occasions where the Executive becomes involve. For example, the police is requesting that INTERPOL become involve in the Choksi situation. FROM THE SIDELINE Interpol could only become involve through the approval of the Executive. The Commissioner of Police on his own cannot invite INTERPOL here. He has to go through the Attorney General and then the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. When we are having discussions please stick to the relevant issues and stop raising all kinds of extraneous and irrelevant issues. The last point for you to ponder on is this, just like how the Prime Minister would never approve a full blown enquiry into the international Odebrecht scandal, is the same way he would not want a full blown enquiry into the Choksi international scandal.

  5. I’m sure he believes he can talk his way out of this. But it was his mouth that got him into trouble in the first place. He went and talked to Indian media BEFORE Choksi was detained in Dominica and while a private jet was already on it’s way from India to Dominica saying that he heard Choksi ran off on a boat with his girlfriend. Only the people involved in the kidnapping knew of the existence of the fake girlfriend used to snare Choksi. So Gaston MUST be involved because he had key information that only the criminals knew. Then there’s interpol. Gaston says he called interpol to cover his government from kidnapping accusations. Except the Dominica government detained Choksi at sea using that very interpol yellow notice as their only basis to detain the man. They had no other reason to hold him because the boat was in international waters. Yellow notices are not for criminals, they’re for rescuing missing persons like children who may be victims. Furthermore, the Dominican government expected the arrival of a St. Lucia registered vessel traveling from Antigua and recruited a local boat handler to help them get a senior police officer to the boat and grab Choksi without arresting the boat crew despite evidence of torture. Then they charged him with illegal entry to hold him until the plane that left India arrived at their airport.

    Gaston is the one person telling the lies that only the kidnappers would have known to tell to cover up the crime. The man was reported missing not missing with a girlfriend. But only Gaston knew about the girlfriend angle, the exact method used the kidnap the man. Guilty. Lose him in jail. If you support this state sponsored kidnapping, you’re now an accomplice and a criminal.

    • @V…🎤🎙👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾🎬🎬🎬the Saga Continues. V – for VERY well said!

  6. What did Lovell order at the ITALIAN RESTAURANT??? Meatballs? Pizza? Fettuccine Alfredo?

    • POVERTY AT AN ALL TIME HIGH IN ANTIGUA…..PEOPLE HUNGRY, HUNGRY, HUNGRY, YOUNG MEN BEGGING $5/$10 IN POINT DAILY…..THIS COUNTRY HAS GONE TO THE DOGS.
      NEVER HAS THINGS BEEN THIS BAD IN ANTIGUA.

      HAVE MERCY ON US LORD…..PLEASE DELIVER US FROM THIS WICKED ENRICHING LABOUR PARTY

      • The country is moving on despite the NOISY, COWARDLY BARKING DOGS.

        The nasty dogs are the CONVICTED PEDOPHILES, GUN SHOOTERS and STICKY FINGERS snakeSpit co-host

      • I must be living in another country. Cause for months now I cannot get a plumber to do a little job. And my gardener is telling me he cannot come this week, maybe next week. Only lazy guys are not working. Work is plenty.

        • Lol! Time to bring in some more immigrants. Perhaps the Haitians know plumbing; try finding them

  7. Did Gaston forget he said Choksi went on a romantic rendezvous with a woman? Gaston ran his mouth before anybody ask him anything.

  8. Charles Tabor June 2, 2022 At 7:43 pm
    You seem to be the one not sticking to the issue. You make my point yet you want the executive to take action. You yourself says that it’s the police that have the authority to investigate any crimes. They do not take instructions for the executive arm. You do put in your little dangerous line without any evidence ” (although they do all the time clandestinely). No proof whatsoever. And that for a lawyer?
    It’s the police you need to address if you want to see any further investigation. You cannot suggest that the government should tell the police to bring in Interpol. The police do that on their own account. If they feel they need Interpol’s assistant, they will write to the AG and request such assistant. But you like to be blinded by your political favoritism. And therefore, try to lay the blame at the feet of the executive. Knowing very well how our system of governance works. That is called being deceitful. I can excuse those that do not know, but not you.

    • FROM THE SIDELINE you don’t understand plain English. There are instances where the Executive must get involve. They are not dictating or investigating with the police. If the police requires outside assistance in an investigation that assistance can only come through the involvement of the Executive. It is pointless having exchanges with you if such a simple point is giving you comprehension problems. The police cannot bring in any outside assistance on its own account. If you do not believe please confer with the Attorney General or Rawlston Pompey.

Comments are closed.