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NEW DELHI: Absconding diamond trader Mehul Choksi was arrested in Belgium on a request by India seeking his extradition in connection with the Rs 13,000 crore Punjab National Bank (PNB) loan fraud case.
He was reportedly arrested on Saturday from a hospital in Belgium.
After the Interpol Red Notice against Choksi was removed, Indian authorities — including the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) — renewed efforts to extradite him from Belgium.
The Belgian government had confirmed the presence of Choksi on its soil, stating that it is giving the matter “great importance and attention”. This was after he had disappeared from Antigua last year.
What’s the case?
Choksi, along with his nephew Nirav Modi, their associates, and several bank officials, was booked by the ED and CBI in 2018 for allegedly orchestrating a massive loan fraud at PNB’s Brady House branch in Mumbai.
According to the ED, Choksi, through his firm Gitanjali Gems and others, cheated the bank in collusion with certain officials by fraudulently obtaining Letters of Undertaking (LoUs) and enhancing Foreign Letters of Credit (FLCs) without following proper procedures — causing significant financial losses to the bank.
Also Read: When fugitive businessman Mehul Choksi was honeytrapped and kidnapped from Caribbean island
So far, the ED has filed three charge sheets against Choksi, while the CBI has also submitted similar charges in the case.
From India to Dominica
Choksi is believed to owe more than Rs 6,000 crore to 34 Indian banks. He allegedly secured the loans using fraudulent methods similar to those employed by his nephew, Nirav Modi. Following the exposure of the scam in January 2018, Choksi fled to the Caribbean nation of Antigua and Barbuda, where he acquired citizenship.
In February 2018, the CBI initiated efforts to trace Choksi. A formal extradition request was sent through diplomatic channels to the Antiguan authorities in August that year after Choksi’s presence was confirmed.
Choksi challenged the extradition bid, claiming he was the target of a political conspiracy. He also raised concerns about prison conditions in India, along with his personal health and safety. Nonetheless, the Interpol’s Commission for Control of Files (CCF) rejected these arguments and approved the Red Notice.
In May, 2021 he was detained again in Dominica for illegal entry. A CBI team traveled to the island nation to bring him back to India, but the effort fell through. In July 2021, the Dominica high court allowed him to return to Antigua for medical treatment.
Later, on his second plea, the Interpol Red Notice was removed.
In a related action, the Enforcement Directorate in February 2021 attached assets worth Rs 14.45 crore belonging to Choksi and his firm Gitanjali Group. These included a flat in Mumbai’s Goregaon, luxury watches, gold and platinum jewellery, precious stones, and a Mercedes-Benz car. The ED had earlier attached assets worth over Rs 2,550 crore in the same case.
How Choksi got Belgian residency
The diamond merchant’s presence in in Antwerp, Belgium was confirmed last month. He was residing in Belgium, along with his wife, Preeti Choksi, after obtaining a residency card in the country, according to a report by the Associated Times. Indian authorities later requested Belgium to initiate his extradition.
His wife Preeti is said to be a Belgian national.
Citing unnamed sources, the report claimed Choksi submitted “false declarations” and “forged documents” while applying for residency in Belgium, failing to disclose his Indian and Antiguan citizenships.
It also suggested that Choksi is planning to relocate to Switzerland, citing the need for treatment at a cancer hospital.
Next stop: Extradition to India?
Indian authorities have shared at least two open-ended arrest warrants, issued by a special court in Mumbai in 2018 and 2021, with Belgian officials as part of their formal extradition request for Mehul Choksi, according to sources.
Following his recent arrest in Belgium, the extradition process is now underway, and formal paperwork is being prepared. Choksi is expected to seek bail on medical grounds, news agency PTI reported quoting sources.
Also Read: ‘His wallet is full’ – PNB scam whistleblower on Mehul Choksi’s India extradition after arrest in Belgium
Choksi’s lawyer, Vijay Agarwal, confirmed that his client was taken into custody by Belgian police on Saturday, April 12.
“Currently, he is in prison. In Belgium, the legal process does not begin with a bail application but rather an appeal. During the appeal, we will request that he not be detained while he defends himself and challenges the extradition request,” Agarwal told reporters.
He said Choksi’s appeal would focus on three key arguments:
- He is not a flight risk.
- He is seriously ill and undergoing cancer treatment.
- The case is politically motivated and prison conditions in India are substandard.
India and Belgium have a longstanding extradition treaty that enables the transfer of fugitives accused of serious crimes such as murder, rape, manslaughter, bigamy, forgery, counterfeiting, embezzlement, and fraud.
In no case can the surrender be made unless the crime shall be punishable according to the laws in force in both countries with regard to extradition.
India-Belgium treaty
However, the treaty includes key conditions. Extradition can only be granted if the alleged offence is considered a crime under the laws of both countries. Additionally, neither country is obligated to extradite its own nationals, whether by birth or naturalisation, under any circumstances, the agreement states.
“Provided that the surrender shall be, made only when, in the case of a person accused, the Commission of the crime shall, be, so established as that the laws of the country where the fugitive or person accused shall be found would justify his apprehension and commitment for trial if the crime had been there committed, and in the case of a person alleged to have been convicted, on, such evidence as, according to the laws of the country where he is found, would prove that he had been convicted,” the treaty reads.
“In no case can the surrender be made unless the crime shall be punishable according to the laws in force in both countries with regard to extradition,” it says.
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