After a failed attempt to get Mehul Choksi deported from Dominica in 2021, where he was taken mysteriously from Antigua and Barbuda — he had become a citizen after fleeing India — the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) kept a continuous watch on the fugitive.
The agency’s global operations centre (GOC), which geolocates Indian fugitives abroad, tracked Choksi in July 2024 in Antwerp, where he went for medical treatment.
While India had no extradition treaty with Dominica and the only option was to get him deported from there, New Delhi and Brussels have had a treaty since 1901, so the CBI didn’t want to take any chances this time and decided to move quickly.
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According to a CBI officer, who didn’t want to be named, a detailed extradition request listing evidence of embezzlement, destruction of evidence, corruption, forgery, etc against the fugitive diamantaire was sent to Belgium’s justice ministry (also known as the federal public service of justice) on August 27, 2024. Attached to this were charge sheets and non-bailable warrants issued by a Mumbai court on May 23, 2018, and June 15, 2021.
The officer said that the extradition of Choksi has been sought under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections – 120 B (criminal conspiracy), 201 (destruction of evidence), 409 (criminal breach of trust), 420 (cheating), 477A (falsification of accounts), and sections 7 and 13 (bribery) of the prevention of corruption act. The agency also invoked the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (UNTOC) and the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) in its extradition request, since Belgium is party to both these UN conventions.
“Simultaneously, we requested the Belgian authorities to immediately put Choksi under arrest so that extradition proceedings could begin,” added the officer.
A second officer confirmed that Choksi was indeed undergoing medical treatment in Antwerp.
To push its case, CBI sent its team twice last year to Belgium to explain the charges to the country’s justice ministry and prosecutors and resolve any queries they had. The second officer, who too asked not to be named, added that the Belgian government examined India’s request at various levels and was convinced with the evidence.
“As dual criminality is a key requirement in extradition, the Belgian government was convinced with our investigation. They certified that Indian charges are punishable crimes in Belgium as well,” the second officer said.
Thereafter, an “order of arrest” for Choksi was issued by the Belgian prosecutors on November 25, 2024, he said.
Choksi was finally arrested in April 12 based on CBI’s request, said a third officer, adding that he is “currently in custody and will be produced at Antwerp Court of First Instance by Belgian authorities in four to five days from arrest date, when we will push for keeping him in prison pending extradition proceedings”.
A CBI team is also set to visit Antwerp to assist in the proceedings. The Enforcement Directorate is also probing Choksi for money laundering and its evidence will also be included in the extradition proceedings.
Responding to a question on why it took Belgium almost five months to arrest Choksi after issuing the “order of arrest” in November 2024, the first officer cited above said, “We have gathered that he was in and out of hospital”.
Asked about the chances of extraditing Choksi from Belgium, this officer cited above said, “Since he isn’t a Belgian citizen, the chances are very high”.
India will also convey to Belgium that if not extradited, Choksi might flee from there as well. He has been on the run since January 2018, when he left India after defrauding PNB. After fleeing from India in January 2018, he acquired the citizenship of Antigua and Barbuda and was living there until July last year with his wife Priti Choksi.
An Interpol red notice was issued against him in 2018 but was later withdrawn by the global police body in November 2022 after Choksi approached it alleging he was abducted from Antigua and Barbuda by Indian agents on May 23, 2021 and taken to Dominica.
After he was found in Dominica, the Indian government flew in a team of investigators on May 28, 2021 hoping to secure his deportation from the island, where he was not a citizen, but Choksi filed a petition in the Dominica high court alleging abduction and torture.
The incident caused a political storm in the Caribbean with opposition parties accusing the governments of Dominica and Antigua & Barbuda of colluding with India to allegedly abduct the businessman. An investigation by Antigua Royal Police mirrored Choksi’s allegations. Dominica sent him back to Antigua on July 15, 2021.