Mehul Choksi arrested: In a major breakthrough, fugitive diamond trader Mehul Choksi has been arrested in Belgium, sources confirmed. The 65-year-old, who has been on the run in connection with the massive Punjab National Bank (PNB) loan fraud, was taken into custody on Saturday (April 12) following a request from India's Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). Sources said that after the Interpol Red Notice against him for arrest was "deleted", Indian agencies, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the CBI, moved for his extradition from Belgium.
As per sources, Choksi had been living in Belgium's Antwerp with his wife Preeti Choksi, who holds Belgian citizenship. Mehul reportedly also possessed an "F Residency Card" and had travelled from Antigua to Belgium under the pretext of seeking cancer treatment. He also hid his Indian and Antiguan citizenships, and was planning to flee to Switzerland when Belgian police intercepted him, sources added.
The arrest came after close coordination between Indian agencies, including the CBI and the ED, and their Belgian counterparts. Once Choksi was located, critical documents and an open arrest request were shared with Belgian authorities, they added.
Rs 13,500 crore bank fraud case
Choksi, along with his nephew Nirav Modi, is accused of masterminding one of India's biggest banking frauds, amounting to approximately Rs 13,500 crore, by exploiting letters of undertaking issued by PNB. Before the scam surfaced, Choksi fled India in January 2018, just weeks before the scandal broke. He had already acquired Antiguan citizenship in 2017.
ED alleged that Choksi, his firm Gitanjali Gems and others "committed the offence of cheating against Punjab National Bank 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 ED has filed three charge sheets against Choksi till now. The CBI too has filed similar charge sheets against him.
Choksi was earlier detained in Dominica in 2021 while allegedly trying to reach Cuba, but was later released after spending 51 days in jail, with the British Privy Council granting him relief. During that time, he claimed he was the victim of a political conspiracy, and accused Indian agencies like the ED of illegally seizing his properties. Choksi was the owner of Gitanjali Gems Ltd, a once-prominent jewelry brand in India.
