"It is incomprehensible that no action would be taken"
The NCA is facing scrutiny over the apparent failure to investigate an alleged kidnap gang accused of a “honey trap plot” to abduct fugitive diamond tycoon Mehul Choksi from the Caribbean.
This is despite the incident happening more than five years ago.
Choksi claimed he was lured from his home in Antigua by a London-based property consultant before being abducted as part of a covert Indian operation to return him to Delhi.
The case has prompted calls for British authorities to investigate those accused of involvement.
According to a court claim filed in Antigua and Barbuda, Choksi was befriended by London-based property consultant Barbara Jarabik, who allegedly persuaded him to visit an apartment near his home.
He was allegedly then tasered, restrained and strapped to a wheelchair before being taken aboard a yacht bound for Dominica on May 23, 2021.
Court filings allege that Choksi was tortured and beaten aboard the vessel by Birmingham-based Gurjit Singh Bhandal and Gurmit Singh.
Days after the alleged kidnapping, an Indian delegation reportedly arrived in the region with the intention of deporting him to India, where he is wanted in connection with an alleged £1.3 billion banking fraud.
The case has been described as the largest financial scam in India’s history.
Choksi had obtained Antiguan citizenship before the allegations emerged, using his status to challenge India’s attempts to extradite him.
However, he claims the alleged plot was designed to take him to Dominica, where he had no legal right to remain and could potentially be deported to India.
Following the alleged abduction, whistleblowers reportedly alerted his lawyers, who subsequently located him in a cell with injuries before securing his release.
Choksi is now suing Antiguan police, accusing them of failing to properly investigate his claims. A key hearing in the case is scheduled to take place at the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court.
He has also alleged that the operation was organised by Gurdip Bath, an Indian-born diplomat who holds citizenship of St Kitts and Nevis.
Bath, who has served as St Kitts’ commercial attaché to the UK for 14 years, owns an £8 million mansion in Mayfair, near the Ritz, and strongly denies any involvement.
However, it is reported that the NCA has yet to interview either the alleged suspects or Choksi.
The apparent lack of progress has raised questions about whether British authorities are reluctant to risk damaging diplomatic relations with India.
Oliver Laurence, chief executive of UK-based private intelligence firm Periculum Security Group, which has been retained by Choksi as lead investigator into the alleged kidnapping, criticised the lack of action.
He said: “It has been more than two years since I briefed the National Crime Agency on Mr Choksi’s kidnapping.
“To date, no action has been taken, and yet we have alleged suspects in the UK with not a care in the world.
“It is incomprehensible that no action would be taken when there is as much evidence as I believe there to be.
“My worry is that there are links to senior political figures outside of the UK, which should rightly worry anyone who respects the rule of law.”
Choksi was accused of conspiring with employees of Punjab National Bank in an alleged £1.3 billion fraud involving the acquisition of fraudulent loans to support his jewellery business.
The allegations emerged in March 2018, although he strongly denies any wrongdoing.
Before charges were brought against him, Choksi had moved to the Caribbean, relinquished his Indian citizenship and obtained an Antiguan passport.
Antigua does not have an extradition treaty with India, a factor that has complicated efforts to return him to face the allegations.
His legal team has since submitted flight manifests and passenger documents which they say support his account of the alleged kidnapping.
The documents reportedly place Jarabik, Bath, Singh and Singh Bhandal in Antigua around the time of the incident.
According to the filings, Singh and Singh Bhandal boarded a yacht that had been docked near Choksi’s home.
A request had also reportedly been made for a berth suitable for “a passenger who is wheelchair-bound”.
The two men were aboard when the yacht departed for Dominica on the day Choksi says he was abducted, although they maintain he was not on the vessel.
Flight records also reportedly show that Bath, Jarabik and another English suspect were the only passengers aboard a private jet travelling from Antigua to Dominica several hours later.
None of the individuals accused by Choksi is a party to his legal action against the Antiguan authorities, meaning they cannot formally respond to the allegations through those proceedings. However, all have strongly rejected the claims.
Representatives for Bath have maintained that he was in the region on a business trip with Jarabik, but denied that he knew the other alleged suspects or had ever met Choksi.
He has also said he has “no association with any Indian government-owned intelligence service”.
Jarabik has denied any involvement in the alleged kidnapping, claiming Choksi was obsessed with her. She acknowledged being with him on the day in question but said she had left several hours before the alleged abduction.
Singh described his presence in the Caribbean as “purely coincidental”, dismissed the allegations as ‘baseless and fake’ and said he was willing to assist both the NCA and Antiguan authorities.
Meanwhile, Singh Bhandal said he had been on a sailing trip and had never heard of Choksi before being accused of involvement. He also denied having met Jarabik.
Choksi is currently being held in a Belgian prison, where he is fighting extradition to India.
He recently abandoned a London High Court case against the alleged suspects after failing to provide £677,000 in security for the defendants’ costs. Interpol arrest warrants against three of the suspects have also been withdrawn.
An NCA spokesman said: “We do not routinely confirm nor deny the existence of investigations or those subject to them.”
