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NEW DELHI: Absconding diamond merchant and key accused in PNB scam case, Mehul Choksi, was arrested in Belgium on Saturday. However, Indian probe agencies may face a tough road ahead in securing his extradition, as Choksi is expected to cite health reasons in court to resist being brought back to India.
The 65-year-old fugitive is preparing for a legal battle and may soon seek bail on medical grounds. Choksi, who has been living in Antigua since fleeing India in 2018, had travelled to Belgium last year, reportedly for cancer treatment.
On Choksi’s detention in Belgium, his lawyer Vijay Aggarwal defended him, saying, “My client was taken into custody on Saturday, at the moment, he is in prison, the procedure is not to apply for bail, the procedure is to apply for file and appeal, during that appeal, the request is made, that he should not be kept in detention, he should be permitted to defend himself, oppose the extradition request, while not being in the custody.”
He added, “These are the obvious grounds that he is not a flight risk, he is extremely sick, he is undergoing the treatment of cancer, when he was picked up from Antigua to be taken to Dominica by the Indian agencies, that time because of the torture, he is feeling claustrophobic, he has got permanent deformities, he is also facing Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). The case has become very strong. We will de defending on two grounds- first it is a political case, secondly because of the human condition in India (condition of prisons in India).”
- The whistleblower in the PNB scam case, Hariprasad SV, has also expressed skepticism about Choksi’s return to India, pointing out his deep financial resources and access to high-powered legal support across Europe.
- Choksi was arrested based on at least two open-ended non-bailable warrants issued by a special Mumbai court in 2018 and 2021. Indian agencies had shared these documents with Belgian authorities as part of a formal extradition request.
- However, the process may be complicated by the fact that Interpol had earlier “deleted” a Red Notice against him, prompting India to pursue the extradition route instead.
- Choksi, along with his nephew
Nirav Modi , their companies, family members, bank officials, and others, was booked in 2018 by the CBI and Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with a massive fraud at PNB’s Brady House branch in Mumbai.
- Former Managing Director of Choksi’s
Gitanjali Gems , Santosh Srivastava, welcomed fugitive jeweller’s arrest. He said, “I hope that the government brings him back to the country as soon as possible. Every bit of the money involved should be recovered.”According to the CBI’s chargesheet, Choksi and his firm Gitanjali Gems allegedly “committed the offence of cheating against PNB in connivance with certain bank officials by fraudulently getting the LOUs (letters of undertaking) issued and got the FLCs (foreign letter of credit) enhanced without following prescribed procedure and caused a wrongful loss to the bank”.
- During March-April 2017 alone, the bank issued 165 LoUs and 58 FLCs, leading to the discounting of 311 bills. These were used to raise funds from foreign branches of multiple Indian banks including SBI (Mauritius and Frankfurt), Allahabad Bank (Hong Kong), Axis Bank (Hong Kong), Bank of India (Antwerp), and Canara Bank (Manama), as PTI reported.
- When Choksi’s companies defaulted on repayments, PNB had to pay Rs 6,344.97 crore ($965.18 million), including overdue interest, to the lending banks.
- The ED has so far attached or seized assets worth Rs 2,565.90 crore belonging to Choksi, and a court has granted permission to monetise them.
- Meanwhile, Nirav Modi, who was arrested in London in 2019 on the basis of India’s extradition request, remains jailed there and continues to contest his extradition in UK courts
- With Choksi expected to mount a strong legal challenge in Belgium, Indian authorities face a significant diplomatic and judicial test in bringing him home to face justice.
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