Remember Mehul Choksy? Fugitive businessman, accused of defrauding PNB of Rs 13,500 crore arrested, will he be extradited?

Mehul Choksi, a fugitive diamond dealer and one of the main suspects in the $2 billion Punjab National Bank (PNB) scam, has been taken into custody by Belgian police. According to the Economic Times, the 65-year-old was taken into custody on Saturday at the Central Bureau of Investigation's (CBI) request and is presently incarcerated.

According to sources, Choksi was taken into custody on Saturday at the request of India’s Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and remains in jail. He fled India in 2018, and his arrest marks a significant development in the years-long effort to bring him to justice.

Sources further stated that preparations were being made for his extradition to India. However, Choksi is currently preparing for a legal battle. His defence team plans to move for bail, claiming that it will oppose his extradition.

The legal team states that Choksi has strong reasons to challenge the extradition request, citing his health condition, among other arguments. The 65-year-old fugitive diamond merchant who left India on January 2, 2018, is wanted by the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for allegedly defrauding PNB of Rs 13,850 crore. His nephew, Nirav Modi, was also involved with him in the fraud.

He fled India, initially travelling to the United States before settling in Antigua. Before leaving India, Choksi took the citizenship of Antigua in 2017 and was later arrested in Dominica, allegedly trying to flee to Cuba, although his counsel had claimed that he had been kidnapped from Antigua.

Dominica deported him back to Antigua despite India making a representation for extradition in the court. He left Dominica, reportedly to seek treatment for Cancer in Belgium. Choksi connived with his associates and other Punjab National Bank (PNB) officials from 2014 to 2017 and fraudulently obtained Letters of Undertaking and Foreign Letters of Credit from PNB, resulting in a wrongful loss of Rs. 6097.63 crore to PNB.

During the investigation, the ED conducted searches at more than 136 locations all over India and seized valuables/jewellery worth Rs. 597.75 crore pertaining to the Gitanjali Group of Mehul Choksi. Further, immovable/movable assets worth Rs 1968.15 crore of Mehul Choksi and Gitanjali Group were attached, including immovable properties in India and overseas, vehicles, bank accounts, a factory, shares of listed companies, and jewellery. 

In aggregate, assets worth Rs. 2565.90 Crore were attached or seized in this case, and three Prosecution Complaints have been filed. Two weeks back, fugitive businessman Mehul Choksi and his wife, Preeti Choksi, obtained an F Residency Card in Belgium. Preeti, a Belgian citizen, has family ties in the country, as does Choksi's extended family. 

In 2024, the couple relocated to Belgium from Antigua. Choksi's nephew, Nirav Modi, was arrested by the Metropolitan Police in London back in May 2019. Although Modi had exhausted all legal avenues for extradition, he continues to be in a UK jail. Earlier reports from Antiguan media suggest that Mehul and Preeti Choksi are considering settling in Geneva.

Earlier this year, Choksi's legal counsel informed a special court in Mumbai that he is currently in Belgium's Antwerp, undergoing treatment for blood cancer. In March 2023, Interpol revoked the Red Notice against Choksi. 

(With inputs from ANI)