In a major development in India’s bid to extradite fugitive diamantaire Mehul Choksi, the Belgium authorities on Saturday took the businessman into custody on Indian agencies’ extradition request over the bank ‘fraud’, people familiar with the development confirmed on Monday.
An officer in the know of the matter said Mehul Choksi was arrested on Saturday and is currently in the custody, adding that “his bail will take time”.
Meanwhile, the CBI is now in touch with the Belgian authorities to execute its extradition request, this officer said.
Who is Mehul Choksi? Key facts
– Early life: According to information available on the web, Mehul Choksi was born in Maharashtra’s Mumbai in 1959 but received his education from a college in Gujarat. Mehul Choksi is married to Preeti Choksi and has three children, a son and two daughters.
– Key accused in a major fraud Case: Mehul Choksi is the ₹13,500 crore Punjab National Bank (PNB) scam”>prime accused in the ₹13,500 crore Punjab National Bank (PNB) scam, along with his nephew Nirav Modi. It is alleged that they used fraudulent Letters of Undertaking (LoUs) to obtain overseas credit or loans from Indian banks.
– Former owner of Gitanjali Group: Mehul Choksi was the owner of the Gitanjali Group, a prominent jewelry company with operations in India and abroad which is collapsed after the alleged fraud came to light in 2018.
– Fled India in 2018: Mehul Choksi left India in early 2018, just before the scam became public, and initially took up citizenship in Antigua and Barbuda under its Citizenship by Investment programme.
– Mehul Choksi currently in Belgium: Mehul Choksi came to Belgium last year from Antigua and Barbuda. His lawyer Vijay Aggarwal, had in February this year informed a Mumbai court that Choksi was in Belgium for suspected cancer treatment. Mehul Choksi was residing in Belgium’s Antwerp with his wife Preeti Choksi.
– Plans to move to Switzerland: Mehul Choksi allegedly obtained Belgian residency using falsified documents and is said to be considering a move to Switzerland for treatment of cancer.
– Extradition evasion: He is accused taking actions in bid to actively evade extradition to India. In 2021, he mysteriously went missing from Antigua and was later found in Dominica.
– Mehul Choksi’s 2021 abduction charge: Mehul Choksi alleged that he was abducted by Indian agents from Antigua and was taken in a yacht to Dominica on May 23, 2021. After he was found in Dominica the next day, the Indian government flew in a team of investigators on May 28 hoping to secure his deportation from the island, where he was not a citizen. However, Choksi filed a petition in the Dominica high court alleging abduction and torture. Dominica, which initiated illegal entry proceedings against Choksi withdrew its case and sent him back to Antigua on July 15, 2021.
– More cases againt Choksi: Other than the PNB fraud, in which his nephew Nirav Modi is also accused, CBI had filed three more cases Mehul Choksi in 2022 for allegedly cheating several banks including Punjab National Bank and ICICI Bank of ₹6,746 crore. Nirav Modi remains imprisoned in London and continues to fight his extradition to India after multiple bail rejections
– FEO declaration hearing: A special PMLA court in Mumbai has been hearing the Enforcement Directorate’s plea to declare Mehul Choksi a fugitive economic offender (FEO), which would allow the government to initiate action to confiscate offender’s properties.