Heists, Scams & Lies: The Billion Dollar Honey Trap

The Indian nation is up in arms. One of their national banks has been scammed out of $1.8billion dollars. Mehul Choksi, the man Prime Minister Modi suspects as the mastermind behind the plot, is living it up on the island paradise of Antigua.
Having secured Antiguan citizenship just months before the banking scandal was discovered, Mehul Choksi is safe from the clutches of the Indian government.
But for how long? Because shortly after numerous extradition attempts have failed, a beautiful Hungarian woman arrives in Antigua and befriends Choksi.

Heists, Scams and Lies is an original podcast by The Crime Desk.

Reported and presented by Andy Jehring & Tom Kelly
Written and Produced by Sally McLennan & Artemis Irvine
Executive Producers are Bella Soames and Emma Shaw
Editing and Sound Design by John Scott

New episodes of Heists, Scams & Lies: The Billion Dollar Honey Trap are released weekly, however you can join The Crime Desk to hear all episodes straight away - along with exclusive weekly bonus episodes of our award-winning podcast The Trial, ad-free listening across all of our shows, and early access to brand-new series.

Take advantage of a 7-day free trial and become a member today at thecrimedesk.com
Join The Crime Desk now get early access to new seasons of Heists, Scams & Lies before anyone else. Plus, you'll get exclusive weekly bonus episodes of our award-winning podcast The Trial, ad-free listening across all of our shows, and early access to brand-new true crime shows. Become a member today at thecrimedesk.com.

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In the diamond drenched streets of Surat along India’s western coast, is a young man with a vision. Mehul Choksi is part of a trusted family business with a reputation for producing stunning gems. But when Choksi’s father dies, Choksi decides he can do more.
Over the next few decades he builds. And builds. Until he’s created a billion dollar diamond empire the likes of which India has never seen.

But is it all down to hard graft? Or did Choksi find other means to grow his exponential wealth?

Because in 2018, a banking scandal shakes the entire nation, and Choksi is right at the heart of it.

Heists, Scams and Lies is an original podcast by The Crime Desk.

Reported and presented by Andy Jehring & Tom Kelly
Written and Produced by Sally McLennan & Artemis Irvine
Executive Producers are Bella Soames and Emma Shaw
Editing and Sound Design by John Scott
Head of Audio is Jamie East

New episodes of Heists, Scams & Lies: The Billion Dollar Honey Trap are released weekly, however you can join The Crime Desk to hear all episodes straight away - along with exclusive weekly bonus episodes of our award-winning podcast The Trial, ad-free listening across all of our shows, and early access to brand-new series.

Take advantage of a 7-day free trial and become a member today at thecrimedesk.com
Join The Crime Desk now get early access to new seasons of Heists, Scams & Lies before anyone else. Plus, you'll get exclusive weekly bonus episodes of our award-winning podcast The Trial, ad-free listening across all of our shows, and early access to brand-new true crime shows. Become a member today at thecrimedesk.com.

Click here to sign up to The Crime Desk's weekly newsletter.
It's free and packed with exclusive interviews, expert insight, and gripping deep dive investigations from across the world.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Indian diamond tycoon Mehul Choksi had it all. A billion dollar empire. Businesses all over the world. And now a retirement home in Antigua. Life was simply paradise. But one day, that bubble was burst, and Choksi’s life would never be the same again…

Heists, Scams & Lies: The Billion Dollar Honey Trap tells the wild story of an alleged kidnap. Of when billionaire businessman Mehul Choksi was purportedly lured by a beautiful woman into an ambush. One that, he says, saw him abducted from Antigua, beaten, bound and gagged, and spirited away in the dead of night to the island of Dominica.

Not for a ransom. But because he’d made an enemy out of the wrong guy…

It’s Bollywood meets Bond, a scandalous romp involving revenge, geopolitics, billion dollar diamonds and a devilishly alluring woman. A story that, for now at least, ends in the bowels of a Belgium prison.
Join The Crime Desk now get early access to new seasons of Heists, Scams & Lies before anyone else. Plus, you'll get exclusive weekly bonus episodes of our award-winning podcast The Trial, ad-free listening across all of our shows, and early access to brand-new true crime shows. Become a member today at thecrimedesk.com.

Click here to sign up to The Crime Desk's weekly newsletter.
It's free and packed with exclusive interviews, expert insight, and gripping deep dive investigations from across the world.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After David Ames's conviction, the hosts receive an unexpected message from his son Dan, insisting his father is innocent. Soon after, they find themselves sitting in Carol Ames's bungalow, listening to the convicted fraudster's wife defend him. As Carol dismisses every piece of evidence that convinced the jury, a troubling question emerges: Is this elaborate denial, or does the Ames family genuinely believe their own version of events? Meanwhile, thousands of victims still face the consequences of sinking their hard-earned money into the failed Harlequin operation; many of them elderly people who invested their pension pots.

If you have any information you’d like to share with us about Harlequin, please drop us a line at hsl@dailymail.co.uk

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Hosts: George Odling and Andy Jehring
Series Producer: Ósk Pétursdóttir
Sound design: John Scott
Executive producer: Bella Soames
Additional production: Julia Webster
Join The Crime Desk now get early access to new seasons of Heists, Scams & Lies before anyone else. Plus, you'll get exclusive weekly bonus episodes of our award-winning podcast The Trial, ad-free listening across all of our shows, and early access to brand-new true crime shows. Become a member today at thecrimedesk.com.

Click here to sign up to The Crime Desk's weekly newsletter.
It's free and packed with exclusive interviews, expert insight, and gripping deep dive investigations from across the world.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After years of selling Caribbean dreams, David Ames's empire finally crumbles. This episode exposes the network of independent financial advisors who earned millions in commissions for pushing Harlequin properties onto unsuspecting investors. Over 8,000 people lost nearly £400 million, with many elderly victims seeing their pensions vanish overnight.

In 2017, the Serious Fraud Office charged Ames with fraud. After a dramatic 3 month trial, the jury in David Ames’ case returns…

If you have any information you’d like to share with us about Harlequin, please drop us a line at hsl@dailymail.co.uk

Hosts: George Odling and Andy Jehring
Series Producer: Ósk Pétursdóttir
Sound Design: John Scott
Executive Producer: Bella Soames
Additional Production: Julia Webster
Join The Crime Desk now get early access to new seasons of Heists, Scams & Lies before anyone else. Plus, you'll get exclusive weekly bonus episodes of our award-winning podcast The Trial, ad-free listening across all of our shows, and early access to brand-new true crime shows. Become a member today at thecrimedesk.com.

Click here to sign up to The Crime Desk's weekly newsletter.
It's free and packed with exclusive interviews, expert insight, and gripping deep dive investigations from across the world.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.