1 day Ago By Snehil Singh
Fugitive diamond trader Mehul Choksi, accused in the Punjab National Bank (PNB) loan fraud case, has been arrested by Belgian authorities. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) confirmed the arrest on Saturday. Choksi is currently being held in a Belgian jail.
He was arrested on two active arrest warrants by a Mumbai court, dated May 23, 2018, and June 15, 2021. Choksi is now starting the extradition proceeding to India, where he is charged with allegedly defrauding PNB of ₹13,850 crore with his nephew, Nirav Modi. The CBI and Enforcement Directorate (ED) accused them of using Letters of Undertaking (LoUs) and Foreign Letters of Credit (FLCs) in the fraud, facilitated by bribing officials at the bank's Brady House branch in Mumbai.
They had fled India in January 2018, weeks before the scam was exposed. In a communication to NDTV, the Belgian foreign ministry said they were aware of Choksi's presence in the country and attached great importance and attention to it. However, the ministry said it did not comment on individual cases.
Even so, the FPS Foreign Affairs continues to closely follow the developments in this important case it said. Choksi has been living in Antwerp, Belgium, with his wife, Preeti, who is a citizen of Belgium. He acquired a 'residency card' in the country after he left Antigua and Barbuda for medical treatment.
In 2021, he disappeared from Antigua but was later found on another Caribbean island nation, Dominica. As of December 2024, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman told Parliament properties worth ₹22,280 crore had been retrieved or sold off to pay off debts of wanted people like Choksi..
