Mehul Choksi Arrested In Belgium, India Seeks His Extradition

Fugitive diamond trader Mehul Choksi wanted in connection with the Punjab National Bank (PNB) loan fraud case, was arrested by Belgium police, his lawyer confirmed on Monday. The arrest came just as Choksi was planning to flee to Switzerland for medical treatment.

Choski is accused of a Rs 12,636 crore fraud at the state-run Punjab National Bank along with his nephew Nirav Modi, his wife Ami Modi, and his brother Neeshal Modi. In 2018, Choksi fled India and took citizenship in Antigua.

The government is working towards a quick extradition, and a request to deport Choksi to India has been made, sources said Monday afternoon, stressing the government will use every legal tool available to bring him back.

Choksi, who was based in Antigua through a citizenship-by-investment program, managed to secure an F residency card from Belgium on November 15 last year. He used documents belonging to his wife, Preeti Choksi, who is a Belgium national.

According to Enforcement Directorate (ED) sources, Choksi misled the Belgium government by citing humanitarian grounds for medical treatment and used forged and false documents to support his claims. Sources added that he had not renounced his Indian or Antiguan citizenship but still applied for an F residency card from Belgian authorities, which he successfully obtained.

When Indian authorities realised that Choksi was planning to upgrade his status to an F+ residency card, which would make extradition from Belgium more difficult, they moved quickly to request his extradition. In response, the Belgium authorities halted the conversion of his F residency card to F+ status.

Choksi had applied for cancer treatment at Hirslanden Klinik Aarau, a specialised cancer facility in Switzerland. He had nearly secured admission and completed most of the necessary procedures.

However, before he could leave Belgium, he was taken into provisional custody by authorities in Antwerp. In Switzerland, he also applied for urgent medical treatment, again citing his health condition and humanitarian grounds.

Choksi's arrest by Belgium authorities is on the basis of two nonbailable warrants issued by the Mumbai court in 2018 and 2021. He is currently lodged in a Belgium Jail and his bail application hearing will take place at least after a week. For this period, he will be in jail, sources said.