New Delhi: The Belgian government on 12 April arrested fugitive Mehul Choksi who had fled in January 2018 just days before the Rs 13500 crore Punjab National Bank scam became public.
Official sources in the Belgian federal public service of Justice confirmed to the Sunday Guardian that Choksi was arrested on Saturday ‘in anticipation of further judicial proceedings’. The authorities also told this newspaper that the Indian government has introduced an extradition request for Choksi, who along with his nephew Nirav Modi, is the prime accused in the PNB scam.The Sunday Guardian was the first to reveal in December last year” Mehul Choksi is suing GOI in the UK to delay extradition” that the fugitive was currently based in Antwerp, Belgium, and receiving treatment at ZNA (Ziekenhuis Netwerk Antwerpen), a public hospital network in Belgium for multiple ailments that he has been suffering for a long time now.
Choksi, the youngest of six siblings, has a brother in Belgium. His brother-in-law, Hani, remarried after his sister’s death and is also settled in Belgium. His brother, Chetan Chinu Bhai Choksi, also resides in Antwerp.
Choksi has already filed a case in the UK courts to sue India and five other individuals seeking a damage of Rs 3.60 crore for what he will allege was mental, physical, and psychological trauma caused due to Government of India’s action.
The filing of Choki’s suit is being seen as a delay tactic to avoid his extradition to India by invoking the UK courts and unleashing a media blitzkrieg in his favour by using psychiatric evaluation reports, backed by a well-funded PR campaign and bringing in lawyers and law firms who have a track record of first delaying and then completely denying the extradition of their clients.
However, his arrest by Belgian authorities has likely thwarted this.
It is pertinent to mention that India and Belgium have an active extradition treaty, signed and ratified in March 2020, which replaced a pre-independence treaty from 1901 (extended to India in 1958). The treaty provides a legal framework for extraditing individuals accused or convicted of offenses punishable by at least one year of imprisonment in both countries, including serious crimes like fraud, money laundering, and corruption—relevant to cases like Choksi’s. Extradition of nationals is discretionary, and nationality is determined at the time of the offense. Grounds for refusal include political or military offenses, prosecution based on race, religion, or political opinion, or if the offense is time-barred. The treaty also covers fiscal offenses like taxation fraud.
Nirav Modi is currently imprisoned in the United Kingdom, at Wandsworth Prison in London. He has been detained there since his arrest in March 2019 on an extradition warrant.
India and Belgium are actively strengthening their mutual trade cooperation to unlock its full potential. In the fiscal year 2023-24, bilateral trade reached approximately USD 15.07 billion, a robust figure yet below the optimal level both nations aim to achieve. India exported goods valued at USD 7.84 billion to Belgium, while importing USD 7.23 billion, maintaining a balanced trade relationship with a modest surplus for India.
After fleeing India, Mehul Choksi settled in Antigua and Barbuda, obtaining citizenship there. An Interpol notice against him was subsequently withdrawn. The majority of the public funds allegedly misappropriated by Choksi and Nirav Modi belonged to millions of Indian working-class individuals