Indian businessman Mehul Choksi was arrested in Belgium after India requested his extradition. Authorities in India allege that Choksi played a key role in a US$1.4 billion fraud involving one of the country’s largest banks.
Choksi has not made any public statements about his arrest. His lawyer, Vijay Aggarwal, shared that they plan to challenge both his detention and India’s extradition request. Aggarwal explained their arguments: Choksi does not present a flight risk and is in poor health, as he is currently receiving treatment for cancer.
Aggarwal also said they will fight the extradition on the grounds that the case lacks strong evidence, is politically driven, and that Choksi may not receive a fair trial if returned to India.
A Times of India article reported that Choksi was detained based on two non-bailable warrants from Indian courts dating back to 2018 and 2021, though the reason for the timing of his arrest is unclear.
Mehul Choksi and his nephew, Nirav Modi, are both wanted by Indian officials for their alleged roles in the Punjab National Bank fraud. Modi has also lived abroad since 2018 and is now being held in a London prison while awaiting a decision on his extradition to India.
Both men were well-known in the diamond industry. Modi’s jewelry was seen on stars like Naomi Watts and Kate Winslet, and his brand featured Bollywood actress Priyanka Chopra as an ambassador.
Mehul Choksi owned Gitanjali Gems, a jewelry retailer in India that once operated about 4,000 stores across the country.
The Enforcement Directorate claims Choksi and Modi worked with staff at Punjab National Bank’s Brady House branch in Mumbai to secure fake loans for payments to overseas jewel suppliers. They allegedly moved and laundered the funds instead.
Both Choksi and Modi deny any wrongdoing.
After leaving India, Choksi reportedly traveled to the United States and later settled in Antigua, where he obtained citizenship. In 2021, he was reportedly arrested in Dominica and then sent back to Antigua.
Hariprasad SV, an entrepreneur from Bengaluru, the capital of India’s southern Karnataka state, who first alerted authorities to the suspected fraud in 2016, called Choksi’s arrest “great news.” He told the Times of India that the focus should be on recovering the billions lost in the fraud.
About Mehul Choksi
Mehul Choksi is an Indian businessman and fugitive, born on May 5, 1959, in Mumbai. He was the managing director of Gitanjali Gems, a major jewelry retail chain, and built a diamond empire from his family’s business, starting in 1975. Educated at G.D. Modi College in Palanpur, Gujarat, he expanded Gitanjali into global markets before becoming embroiled in one of India’s largest banking scandals.
He moved to Belgium, reportedly for cancer treatment, where his wife, Preeti Choksi, a Belgian citizen, resides.
India and Belgium have an extradition treaty in force, signed and ratified in March 2020, which replaced an older 1901 treaty (extended to India in 1958). The treaty allows extradition for offenses punishable by at least one year of imprisonment in both countries, including economic crimes, terrorism, and fiscal offenses like tax fraud.
