Editor’s Note
A Belgian court has approved the extradition of Mehul Choksi to India, ruling his arrest was lawful. This marks a significant step in the case concerning the fugitive diamond merchant.
A court in Antwerp, Belgium, approved on Friday the extradition of fugitive Indian diamond merchant Mehul Choksi to India. Authorities stated that the court ruled that Choksi’s arrest by Belgian police, based on a request from Indian agencies, was lawful.
Belgian police arrested Mehul Choksi on April 12 based on an extradition appeal from Indian investigative agencies. He is accused in a loan fraud case involving Punjab National Bank (PNB) and is currently in jail. Choksi is accused of a ₹13,850 crore scam. He was attempting to flee from Belgium to Switzerland at the time of his arrest. Police cited two arrest warrants issued by a Mumbai court on May 23, 2018, and June 15, 2021.
Belgian prosecutors informed the court that Choksi still poses a flight risk and therefore cannot be released from jail. A senior official stated:
Indian officials from the Ministry of External Affairs and the CBI assisted the prosecution in Belgium, presenting evidence of Choksi’s crimes and detailing his alleged involvement with his nephew Nirav Modi in a fraud of approximately ₹13,850 crore from PNB.
Choksi acquired an ‘F Residence Card’ for Belgium on November 15, 2023, reportedly with the help of his Belgian citizen wife. Reports claim he submitted fake documents to Belgian authorities, concealing his Indian and Antiguan citizenship to avoid being sent to India. He had obtained Antiguan citizenship in 2017 before leaving India in 2018.
In May 2021, Choksi traveled from Antigua to the neighboring country Dominica, where he was arrested. A CBI team arrived for his extradition, but he received relief from the British Queen’s Privy Council before it could proceed. He was later handed back to Antigua. However, he spent 51 days in a Dominican jail.
Hariprasad SV, a whistleblower in the PNB scam, commented on Choksi’s arrest:
He added that although Choksi was caught in Antigua, he managed to escape from there because he had a large team of lawyers.