The Congress on Thursday accused the Narendra Modi government of turning a blind eye to an “alleged scam” involving jeweller Jatin Mehta of Winsome Diamonds. The Opposition party demanded that the prime minister answer why Mehta was “allowed to flee the country”.

Mehta owes around Rs 6,800 crore to a consortium of banks, but has now taken up citizenship in the Caribbean nation of St Kitts and Nevis along with his wife. India does not have an extradition policy with the country. The Central Bureau of Investigation and Enforcement Directorate are investigating the case against Mehta’s company, the second largest loan defaulter in the country.

Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to break his silence on who provided protection to him for over three and a half years. He said Mehta was allowed to leave India despite pending complaints against him with the Central Bureau of Investigation since February 2014. A case was filed against him only in April 2017, Surjewala said.

“Jatin Mehta, a jeweller from Palanpur [in Gujarat] has duped banks, including the Punjab National Bank, of Rs 6,712 crore,” Surjewala said. The party also issued a list of questions over the handling of Mehta’s case, including one asking whether the “protection” for him had anything to do with his “close relationship with an industrial house closest to Narendra Modi through marriage of his son”.