Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister Gaston Browne alleged that the country's Opposition party, the United Progressive Party (UPP) promised fugitive diamantaire Mehul Choksi protection from deportation in exchange for campaign funding, according to a report by ANI.
In an interview with the agency, Browne, who has multiple occasions reiterated that his country would deport Choksi — who it does not consider a citizen — to India, maintained his stand to extradite the fugitive back to India.
"Instead of subjecting himself to an enquiry as required by law, he (Choksi) used the courts to stay the revocation of his citizenship," Browne said, referring to a notice from October 14, 2019, that nullified Choksi's citizenship.
Browne alleged that the UPP was "vehement" that Choksi not be deported to India from Dominica, where he is currently detained, as the party lent him support in exchange for funding towards their campaign. The A&B PM also claimed that Choksi's new lawyer, Justin Simon, was a member of the UPP, and the link between Choksi and the party.
The lawyer, however, denied and rubbished any such links between the UPP and Choksi.
Meanwhile, the identity of the woman who accompanied Choksi to Dominica, who Browne told The Times of India was the fugitive's girlfriend, remains unknown. While many theories have surfaced, Browne told the publication that he too does not know the woman's identity. However, he said that Choksi claimed that the woman "lured him into abduction" at her house.
Earlier in the day, Dominica's Leader of Opposition Lennox Linton said that Indian officials had arrived in the Caribbean nation via private and business flights, with the first one landing on Friday, and another on Tuesday. He claimed that the officials were there to assist the Dominican government in Choksi's deportation.