Fugitive diamond trader Mehul Choksi held in Belgium after India' extradition request

New Delhi, April 14

Fugitive diamond trader Mehul Choksi has been arrested by Belgium after India made an extradition request, He is wanted by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate in connection with the alleged Rs 13,000 crore Punjab National Bank (PNB) loan fraud case.

Earlier this year, CBI made a request through the Ministry of External Affairs to the Belgian authorities to initiate his extradition to India. Choksi was believed to have lived in Antigua and Barbuda before travelling to Belgium. His wife, Preeti, is known to be a Belgian citizen.

It has come to the fore that Mehul Choksi and his wife, Preeti, allegedly obtained F-Residency cards in Belgium. Preeti, a Belgian citizen, has family ties in the country, as does Choksi's extended family.

He was detained from a hospital in Belgium, where he was reportedly undergoing treatment. His arrest came days after Indian authorities intensified their extradition efforts.

Choksi is currently facing proceedings under the Fugitive Economic Offenders (FEO) Act, under which the Centre can confiscate the properties of an accused even before the trial begins.

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

As per the case details, Choksi, his firm Gitanjali Gems, and others allegedly cheated Punjab National Bank in connivance with certain bank officials by fraudulently getting the letters of undertaking (LoUs) issued, and getting the foreign letter of credit (FLCs) enhanced without following prescribed procedure. The agency has filed three chargesheets against Choksi till now.

Nirav Modi, declared a fugitive economic offender, is lodged in a London jail after he was held by the authorities there in 2019 based on a legal request made by ED and CBI in the PNB case. He is contesting extradition to India.