“In a letter to the judge, prosecutors said there was no need for an arraignment because Khobragade had “very recently” been given diplomatic immunity status and left the United States on Thursday.
The letter said the charges will remain pending until she can be brought to court to face them, either through a waiver of immunity or her return to the US without immunity status.
“We will alert the court promptly if we learn that the defendant returns to the United States in a non-immune capacity, at which time the government will proceed to prosecute this case and prove the charges in the indictment,” the letter from the office of US attorney Preet Bharara said.
Lawyer says Devyani remains in US
The lawyer for an Indian diplomat accused of lying about how much she paid her housekeeper says she’s still in the United States, despite a prosecutor’s claim that she left.
Attorney Daniel Arshack said in a statement on Thursday that Devyani Khobragade was at her New York City apartment. Shortly after he issued the statement, a spokesman for federal prosecutors said the state department had told prosecutors that it had asked her to leave the country on Thursday afternoon.
Questions about her whereabouts arose after prosecutors announced that she’d been indicted on criminal charges of visa fraud and making false statements.”