Mehul Choksi drops kidnapping claim against India in UK court, ordered to pay £677,000

Mangalore Today News Network

UK, Sep 30, 2026: Fugitive diamond businessman Mehul Choksi has dropped his multimillion-pound damages claim against the Indian government and others in the London High Court over an alleged attempt to kidnap him from Antigua in 2021. The court has ordered him to pay a total of £677,000 towards the legal costs of parties involved in the case.

Choksi had alleged that the Indian government conspired with individuals, including Hungarian national Barbara Jarabik, to unlawfully kidnap, torture and extrajudicially render him to India via Dominica.

The alleged incident took place on May 23, 2021, when Choksi disappeared from Antigua and was subsequently found in Dominica. He had claimed that he was abducted as part of an operation linked to Indian authorities.

The Indian government denied all allegations of kidnapping and extrajudicial rendition. It also disputed the jurisdiction of the UK courts and invoked state immunity in the proceedings.

Choksi Ordered To Pay £677,000

Justice Mansfield ordered Choksi to pay £425,000 in security costs for Gurdip Bath and Leslie Farrow-Guy, and a further £252,000 towards the legal fees of Gurmit Singh and Gurjit Singh Bhandal. The judge also noted that much of Choksi’s evidence was hearsay and was not supported by independent witness testimony.

Choksi is currently in jail in Antwerp, Belgium, where he is appealing an extradition order to India. He is wanted in India in connection with the Punjab National Bank fraud case involving fugitive diamantaire Nirav Modi and his companies.

CBI Secures Deportation Of Nirav Modi Aide

Meanwhile, the Central Bureau of Investigation has secured the deportation of Sandeep Mistry from the UAE to India in connection with the Nirav Modi-PNB fraud case.

Mistry was the subject of an Interpol Red Notice and was allegedly involved in managing the day-to-day operations of entities linked to the fraud, according to investigators.

Investigators have accused him of destroying digital evidence using self-deleting communication platforms, forging import-export documentation for fake jewellery transactions and coercing dummy directors of offshore entities.

The CBI, in coordination with Interpol and other agencies, had sought a Red Notice against Mistry and subsequently secured his deportation from the UAE to India in roughly two months. His return is expected to aid the investigation into the overseas operations and entities allegedly used in the Nirav Modi-linked fraud case.

The two developments come as Indian agencies continue efforts to pursue fugitives and accused persons based overseas in high-profile financial crime cases.