Fugitive Mehul Choksi arrested in Belgium

Fugitive diamond trader Mehul Choksi, wanted in connection with the Punjab National Bank (PNB) loan fraud case, has been arrested by Belgian authorities on India's extradition request for his role in the PNB bank loan 'fraud' case.The 65-year-old was arrested on Saturday and is currently in jail, Choksi's lawyer, Vijay Aggarwal, told reporters in New Delhi. He said they would file an application against his arrest and would also oppose India's extradition request. "My client is not a flight risk. He is extremely sick and is undergoing treatment for cancer," Aggarwal told reporters while citing grounds for Choksi's appeal.

Delhi: Vijay Aggarwal, lawyer of Mehul Choksi, on Mehul Choksi's arrest in Belgium, says, ''If they come here, due to political and media pressure, they believe that fair trial may not be possible. Moreover, their medical condition is such that their human rights will be affected… pic.twitter.com/dii9BLHgMh

— IANS (@ians_india) April 14, 2025

Choksi and his nephew, Nirav Modi, who is awaiting extradition from London, are wanted by the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for allegedly defrauding the bank of more than Rs 13,500 crore in 2018. The PNB had filed a criminal complaint against several entities, including Choksi, Modi and the managing director of his firm, Gitanjali Gems. 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. Choksi and Modi fled India in January 2018, weeks before the scam in the PNB surfaced.His wife, Preeti Choksi, is a Belgian citizen.
As per information, Mehul was detained on April 12 from a hospital in Belgium, where he had reportedly been undergoing treatment. His arrest came days after Indian authorities stepped up extradition efforts. Sources said that he had travelled to Europe, citing poor health, shortly after ED and CBI began pushing harder for his return. He was in hospital care when Belgian police took him into custody. Sources added that Choksi had been planning to move to Switzerland from Belgium for further medical treatment when he was arrested. The ED has been working to have Choksi declared a Fugitive Economic Offender under the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act in a Mumbai court.