NEW DELHI: Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary on Monday hailed the arrest of fugitive diamond merchant Mehul Choksi in Belgium, calling it a “very big achievement” in India’s ongoing crackdown on economic offenders.
Choksi, wanted in connection with the over Rs 13,000 crore Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud case, was arrested by Belgian authorities on Saturday after his location was confirmed. Indian agencies are now preparing to initiate extradition proceedings to bring him back to face justice.
Chaudhary reiterated Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s resolve to recover the country’s looted wealth, speaking to ANI.
“Prime Minister Narendra Modi had already said that those who have looted the money of the poor will have to return it. And action is being taken against such people in the country. Mehul Choksi has been arrested; it is definitely a very big achievement,” Chaudhrary said.
Legal battle ahead
Choksi, 65, is now preparing for a legal defence, with his team reportedly planning to seek bail and challenge extradition on medical grounds. His lawyers are expected to argue that his health condition does not permit extradition.
Choksi fled India in January 2018, shortly before investigations began into the multi-crore PNB fraud. He had acquired citizenship of Antigua and Barbuda in 2017 and settled there after leaving the country. He later surfaced in Dominica, where he was detained in 2021 for illegal entry. His lawyers claimed he was kidnapped from Antigua and taken to Dominica against his will.
Despite India’s attempts to secure his extradition, Dominica sent him back to Antigua. Choksi subsequently moved to Belgium, allegedly for cancer treatment.
The case so far
According to the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Choksi — along with his nephew Nirav Modi — colluded with Punjab National Bank officials between 2014 and 2017 to fraudulently obtain Letters of Undertaking (LoUs) and Foreign Letters of Credit (FLCs), causing a loss of over Rs 6,000 crore to the bank.
The ED has filed multiple charge sheets against Choksi and attached assets worth over Rs 2,500 crore in the case.
