Elderly Individual Charged with Financial Institution Swindle
Mehul Choksi, a fugitive Indian-origin diamond dealer, is currently not in Belgium but is being held in Dominica, where the High Court has again restrained his extradition to India. The next hearing is scheduled for June 2, 2025.
Initially, reports indicated that Choksi was lodged in a Belgian jail amid possible extradition proceedings. However, the latest credible update confirms his presence and legal proceedings in Dominica. The Dominican court has ordered medical attention for him and stayed his removal from the country.
Choksi is wanted in India in connection with the Rs 13,500 crore Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud case. Despite serious illness claims from Choksi’s side, Indian courts and agencies remain active in legal actions related to him, including granting banks permission to join money laundering cases against him. Proceedings on several related cases are currently stayed or pending.
It was in Antwerp that Choksi was arrested, and there is also an extradition request for him from Indian authorities. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in India accuses Choksi of colluding with his nephew, Nirav Modi, in a fraudulent loan scheme from the state-owned PNB. Reports suggest that Choksi and Modi received help from PNB employees to obtain the fraudulent loans.
Nirav Modi, on the other hand, has been in a British prison since his arrest in London in 2019. His lawyer plans to argue that conditions in Indian prisons are inhumane, while Choksi's lawyer plans to argue that the case is a "political case."
Antwerp, known as the world's diamond trading center, has been a significant location in this saga. The case, which caused a major scandal in India, is a few years old, and the extradition of both Choksi and Modi to India remains unclear.
[1] Dominican High Court Restrains Extradition of Mehul Choksi [2] Indian Court Grants Banks Permission to Join Money Laundering Cases Against Choksi [3] Legal Proceedings on Choksi-Modi Case Stayed or Pending [4] Choksi's Reported Presence in Belgian Jail
[1] In a recent development, the High Court in Dominica has again restrained the extradition of fugitive Mehul Choksi, relevant to the finance and banking-and-insurance sectors, as well as general news.
[2] Despite Choksi's links to a serious crime-and-justice case, involving a Rs 13,500 crore Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud, Indian courts continue to take active measures in related legal actions, granting permission to banks to join money laundering cases against him.
[3] The legal proceedings on various cases related to Mehul Choksi, including the ongoing extradition request from Indian authorities, remain either stayed or pending.
