New Delhi: Fugitive diamantaire Mehul Choksi, who is wanted in connection with the Punjab National Bank (PNB) loan fraud case, has been apprehended by the police in Belgium, according to sources in the CBI, who added that this was carried out at India’s request for his extradition.
The 65-year-old was reportedly arrested on Saturday (April 12). The businessman is living in Antwerp, Belgium, with his wife, Preeti Choksi, after obtaining a ‘residency card’ there.
He is likely to seek bail, citing ill health and other reasons.
Choksi and his nephew, Nirav Modi, are wanted by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for allegedly defrauding the PNB of Rs 13,850 crore.
They allegedly used letters of undertaking (LoUs) and foreign letters of credit (FLCs) by bribing officials of the bank’s Brady House branch in Mumbai. The CBI has filed cases charging Choksi, his nephew Nirav Modi, their companies, bank staff, and others with conspiracy, cheating, and corruption.
Choksi and Nirav Modi fled India in January 2018, weeks before the scam in the PNB surfaced.
According to reports, Choksi has been living in Antwerp with his wife, Preeti Choksi, a citizen of Belgium. A citizen of Antigua and Barbuda, he reportedly left the island nation for medical treatment. In 2021, he went missing from Antigua but was later found on another Caribbean island nation, Dominica.
Choksi is the founder of Gitanjali Gems.
Nirav Modi remains in a UK prison as he continues to contest extradition proceedings initiated by Indian authorities. He was declared a fugitive economic offender (FEO) in 2019, while the ED’s plea against Mehul Choksi has been pending since 2018.
Sources said that Choksi’s arrest was triggered after Indian agencies reactivated extradition requests when the Interpol Red Notice against him was removed.
The ED and CBI, despite the deletion, pursued a fresh request, which ultimately led to his arrest in Belgium.
Sources said that efforts are underway to bring him back to India as soon as possible. However, legal hurdles in Belgian courts can delay the process.
Official confirmation of Choksi’s arrest is awaited as also more details.
(IANS)
