Antigua is not the only country that fugitive rich Indians like Mehul Choksi can simply “buy” citizenship for. The Caribbean is a popular hotspot for people seeking so-called citizenship-by-investment. In return for investing in the country’s infrastructure and development, anyone can get a second passport and citizenship – without any need to have been born or even spent any time there.

It is one way these Caribbean islands fund their development, and the process takes just a few months.

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To get an Antigua and Barbuda passport, Choksi would just have had to pay a minimum of $200,000 (Rs 1.3 crore) as a contribution to the Antigua National Development Fund, or make an investment of $400,000 (Rs 2.7 crore) in a real estate project in Antigua, or an investment of $ 1,500,000 (Rs 10.3 crore) in a business there.