India pushes for Mehul Choksi’s extradition after arrest in Belgium

Choksi was in Belgium for medical treatment. Pic/X@Independent

Absconding diamantaire Mehul Choksi has been arrested in Belgium following an extradition request by Indian probe agencies for his involvement in the Rs 13,000 crore Punjab National Bank (PNB) bank loan "fraud" case, official sources said on Monday. The action was taken on Saturday based on an extradition request moved by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

Choksi, 65, was located in Belgium last year when he went there on the grounds of getting medical treatment. At least two open-ended arrest warrants, issued by a special court in Mumbai in 2018 and 2021, have been shared by the Indian agencies with their Belgian counterparts as part of the extradition request, the sources said.

Formal paperwork is being done following the arrest/detention. Choksi may seek bail on health grounds, they said. Choksi's lawyer Vijay Agarwal said his client was taken into custody by the Belgian Police on Saturday (April 12). "At the moment, he is in prison and there (Belgium), the procedure is not to apply for bail but file an appeal," Agarwal told reporters. He said the "obvious" grounds for the appeal would be that Choksi is "not a flight risk, is extremely sick and undergoing treatment for cancer".

CBI case

Choksi, Nirav Modi, their family members and employees, bank officials and others were booked by the CBI and the ED in 2018 for perpetrating the alleged loan fraud at the Brady House branch of the PNB in Mumbai.

It was alleged that Choksi, his firm Gitanjali Gems and others "committed the offence of cheating against PNB in connivance with certain bank officials by fraudulently getting the LOUs (letters of undertaking) issued and got the FLCs (foreign letter of credit) enhanced without following prescribed procedure and caused a wrongful loss to the bank". The CBI has filed at least two charge sheets against him in this case while the ED has filed three such prosecution complaints.

Matter of pride: Meghwal

Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal said the arrest of Choksi in Belgium is a victory of Indian diplomacy under the Modi government. "It is a matter of pride for India," he told reporters. The arrest became possible due to the successful diplomacy of the government under the leadership of Narendra Modi, he said. He, however, did not directly comment on whether the Indian government has started efforts to bring Choksi back to India.

‘Zero tolerance'

Union Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary asserted that the Modi government has "zero tolerance" towards fugitives like Choksi and corruption, and said the Centre will work to bring him back soon. "The government will work towards bringing him back soon," he said. "There is a zero tolerance policy in the Modi government towards such fugitives and corruption," the minister said.

A diplomatic victory

Foreign Affairs Expert Robinder Sachdev said that the arrest is a diplomatic win more so because a year back, the government had struck Choksi's name off its Red Corner Notice Alert. "Certainly there is a very welcome development that Mehul Choksi has been arrested provisionally by the Belgian authorities on India's request. It is a diplomatic victory," he said.

Extradition not easy: Whistleblower

After Choksi's arrest, PNB scam whistleblower Hariprasad SV said that it will be very difficult for India to get Choksi back home as he will employ the best lawyers in Europe to avoid the process He recalled the time when Choksi succeeded in evading the process when he was caught in Dominica. "Extradition is not an easy task. Choksi's wallet is full, and he will employ the best lawyers in Europe to avoid the process like what Vijay Maliya has been doing. I don't think it is going to be easy for India to get him back," he said.

"When he was caught in Antigua (Dominica) and other islands, he could manage to get out of it because he has a fleet of lawyers. But I wish and hope that this time, the Indian government will succeed," Hariprasad said. He also mentioned that at least 100 franchises were cheated by Choksi, and most of them filed cases in different cities in India.

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever