New Delhi: Fugitive diamond trader Mehul Choksi was arrested on Saturday by Belgian police on India’s extradition request. Choksi, uncle of Nirav Modi, is a key accused in the Rs 14,000 crore Punjab National fraud case.
The Gitanjali Group owner has been arrested based on two non-bailable warrants issued by a Mumbai court, dated May 23, 2018, and June 15, 2021, reported Times of India.
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The 65-year-old will reportedly file an application against his arrest and oppose India’s extradition request. His lawyer argued that since Choksi was undergoing cancer treatment, he was not a flight risk.
Choksi is accused of a Rs 12,636 crore fraud at the state-run Punjab National Bank along with his nephew Nirav Modi, his wife Ami Modi (a Belgium citizen), and his brother Neeshal Modi in 2018. Shortly before the massive fraud came to light, Choksi fled India in January 2018. He flew to Antigua, where he had taken citizenship through the investment programme.
Both Choksi and Nirav Modi, who is awaiting extradition from London, are wanted individuals by the CBI and the ED for bank fraud.
After reports of the absconding jeweller living with his wife in Belgium’s Antwerp city in 2024 surfaced, an extradition request was moved by the CBI and the ED for the “second” prime accused in the PNB scam case.
After fleeing to the US, he later arrived in Antigua, eventually ending up in Belgium. In 2017, he acquired the citizenship of Antigua. A year later, proceedings to locate him began, and an extradition request was sent to Antiguan authorities. However, the fugitive challenged the request, citing poor prison conditions in India, and claimed to be the target of a political conspiracy.
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In 2021, Choksi went missing from Antigua and was later found in Dominica. While authorities alleged that he was trying to flee to Cuba, his legal team claimed he was kidnapped from Antigua. A CBI team left for Dominica to get him back to India, but a high court of Dominica, despite India seeking extradition, deported the fugitive diamond seller back to Antigua.
A Mumbai court, in February 2025, was informed that Choksi was in Belgium for treatment of suspected blood cancer.
Choksi, however, claimed in May 2024 that he didn’t flee India to avoid “criminal prosecution” in the PNB scam case but couldn’t return to the country as his passport was suspended by Indian authorities, which, he told a special PMLA court, were “reasons beyond his control”.
