Mehul Choksi Arrest: Belgium Confirms Working On India's Extradition Request

The Belgian Justice Department on Monday confirmed to NDTV that fugitive Indian businessman Mehul Choksi was arrested on April 12, and is currently being held in detention. It further said that India has also introduced the request for his extradition.

"The Belgian federal public service of Justice can confirm that Mr. Mehul Choksi was arrested on Saturday 12th of April 2025. He is being detained in anticipation of further judicial proceedings. Access to his legal counsel has been assured," the Belgian federal public service of Justice said.

The Belgian authorities refused to divulge more, citing the standard operating procedures in individual cases.

The 65-year-old fugitive diamond merchant who fled India on January 2, 2018, is wanted by the Central Bureau of Investigation and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for allegedly defrauding the Punjab National Bank (PNB) of Rs 13,850 crore. His nephew, Nirav Modi, was also involved with him in the fraud.

Choksi allegedly connived with his associates and other PNB officials from 2014 to 2017 and fraudulently obtained Letters of Undertaking and Foreign Letters of Credit from PNB, resulting in a wrongful loss of Rs. 6097.63 crore to PNB.

Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal on said the arrest of absconding diamantaire Mehul Choksi in Belgium is a victory of Indian diplomacy under the Modi government. "It is a matter of pride for India," he told reporters.

Former diplomat KP Fabian said that the extradition of Mehul Choksi would be a great decision, but it may take a long time. Giving an example of the recent extradition of 26/11 Mumbai terror accused Thawwur Rana from the US, Mr Fabian said that it took 17 years for him to be extradited, and hence we must not expect the same with Choksi soon.

Earlier today, the businessman's lawyer, Vijay Aggarwal, argued that his client's "human rights" will be "greatly affected" if he is extradited back to India.

During a press conference, Mr Aggarwal stated said that the defence team would challenge the extradition on two primary grounds: the political nature of the case and concerns about the proper treatment for Choksi's health condition in India.

"His human rights will be greatly affected," Mr Aggarwal said when asked if Choksi would not get any proper treatment and would be harassed by political parties after he is extradited back to India.

"That's a procedure. Basically, we will be defending it on two grounds. It is a political case and, secondly, because of the human condition in India," Mr Aggarwal added.