Indian fugitive tycoon Mehul Choksi was arrested in Belgium on Saturday over the alleged embezzlement of over €1.6 billion in India, with questions now arising on his possible extradition.
Choksi (65) used to be the head of the Gitanjali Group, a large jewellery company based in Mumbai, which went bankrupt after his implication in one of the largest bank frauds in India.
Choksi, alongside his nephew Nirav Modi, is accused of embezzling billions out of India's second largest state bank, the Punjab National Bank. His wife Ami, and brother Nishal, are also accused.
Choksi and Modi fled India in 2018 before the bank filed a criminal complaint. Shortly afterward in 2019, Modi was arrested in Britain and remains in custody after having lost an lost extradition appeal.
Choksi allegedly went into hiding in Antigua and Barbuda, where he gained citizenship in 2018 through an investment program. However, it had recently emerged that he had settled in a "luxurious apartment on the Eilandje" in Antwerp for multiple months.
He reportedly had taken refuge in Belgium after being the victim of a failed kidnapping attempt and serious assault in Antigua, according to Belgian media outlet HLN.
Credit: Belga / Nicolas Maeterlinck
Unable to travel due to a blood cancer diagnosis, he was also in the process of receiving treatment in Belgium and holds a medical certificate from a Belgian doctor. On Saturday 12 April, he was finally arrested in Antwerp.
Choksi's lawyer Vijay Aggarwal plans to appeal his arrest in Belgium and oppose the extradition on political grounds. There are also concerns about Choksi's health condition due to his ongoing cancer treatment. Furthermore, he is not considered a flight risk and it could breach his human rights.
In 2018, Choksi claimed that the "investigating agencies were acting with pre-determined minds and interfering with the course of justice," according to Reuters.
The Belgian role
India's Central Bureau of Investigation is still hoping to extradite him on multiple grounds. These include the falsification of accounts and collusion with PNB bank officials in Mumbai to get fraudulent advances for payments to overseas suppliers of jewels, with the money being laundered.
The extradition of Indian nationals from Belgium relies upon the India-Belgium treaty ratified through an exchange of letters between the two states after India gained independence from Britain.
Princess Astrid of Belgium meets with Prime Minister of India Shri Narendra Modi during an official meeting with the Prime Minister of India, on the third day of the Belgian economic mission to India, Tuesday 04 March 2025. Credit: Belga
Endorsed by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the extradition treaty allows the extradition of a person accused of a punishable offence under the laws of both countries with a sentence equivalent to or above one year imprisonment. Offences relating to financial crimes, taxation or revenue are covered by the treaty.
The treaty states that if the offence involved is political, extradition can be refused. According to the a CBI officer who spoke to the Hindustan Times, the Belgian Government have certified that the "Indian charges are punishable crimes in Belgium as well."
