Is Mehul Choksi officially a fugitive? How does it impact his extradition to India? All you need to know

Soon after diamond tycoon Mehul Choksi's arrest by the Belgian police was confirmed earlier this week, his lawyer Vijay Aggarwal claimed that the businessman was ‘not a fugitive, but a cancer patient’. Aggarwal told the media that Choksi would contest the arrest and oppose the extradition request on ‘humanitarian and political grounds’.

“This is a political case. My client is not a flight risk and is gravely ill. He is undergoing treatment for cancer and has consistently offered to cooperate through video conference. His human rights will be severely compromised if he is extradited to India. We are filing an appeal immediately,” the lawyer said in interviews and statements.

Choksi, 65, is the subject of a probe by Indian investigation agencies—the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)—into a ₹13,500-crore Punjab National Bank (PNB) loan fraud that has been evading authorities since 2018.

Aggarwal, his lawyer, said his client was not categorised as a fugitive under Indian law because he remained in contact with investigation agencies and had never evaded cooperation. “We have filed multiple applications offering that he will join the investigation virtually. Despite his willingness, he couldn’t travel back due to serious health constraints,” he said.

Plea pending in court

Choksi has not been officially declared a Fugitive Economic Offender (FEO) under Indian law. Back in July 2018, the ED filed an application to declare him an FEO under the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act. Choksi has been contesting the plea.

The plea has been pending in a Mumbai court for nearly seven years, delaying the formal designation, according to a report by news agency PTI.

Choksi was arrested in Belgium following an extradition request by Indian probe agencies, official sources said on Monday. The ED had filed the application in July 2018, seeking to declare Choksi an FEO and confiscate his assets under provisions of the Fugitive Economic Offenders (FEO) Act.

However, the matter has witnessed repeated delays owing to a barrage of applications filed by the accused in the PMLA court and the Bombay High Court alleging procedural lapses in the ED's plea.

"The court is kept busy with frivolous applications, and hearing on our application to declare him (Choksi) an FEO has been adjourned for the past seven years,” an ED officer had said after the hearing was once again deferred this February.

What does the law say?

Under the FEO Act, an individual can be declared a Fugitive Economic Offender if a warrant has been issued against him for an offence involving ₹100 crore or more and he has left India while refusing to return. Once declared an FEO, the person’s property can be confiscated by the investigating agency.

Choksi had challenged the ED's application in the Bombay High Court, alleging that the agency "had not followed proper procedure before filing the application and, hence, it stands vitiated".

However, in September 2023, the high court dismissed his plea, ruling that the ED had adhered to the prescribed format under the FEO Act. It also vacated a stay on the special court’s proceedings.

However, the hearing on declaring Choksi FEO could not commence. Choksi's latest attempt to stall proceedings through a plea to recall the notice issued on the ED's FEO application was rejected in December 2023.

GOI calls him fugitive

Choksi left India under suspicious circumstances in early January 2018, according to ED officials. He is referred as a ‘fugitive’ in government documents, and even in the courts, according to people familiar with the case.

But Choksi’s counsel has argued that the ED kept shifting its stance on the material grounds for declaring him an FEO and that the suspension of his Indian passport made it impossible for him to return for investigation.

The ED claims that the accused left the country under suspicious circumstances in the first week of January 2018.

Nirav Modi declared a fugitive

​Choksi, a diamond trader and owner of Gitanjali Group, is wanted in India in connection with a ₹13,500-crore PNB bank loan fraud case. Along with his nephew Nirav Modi, Choksi is an accused in the PNB scam.

Choksi, Modi, their family members and employees, bank officials and others were booked by the ED and the CBI in 2018 for perpetrating the alleged fraud in the Brady House branch of the PNB in Mumbai.

Nirav Modi has already been declared an FEO by the special court. Modi has been lodged in jail in London since 2019.

Does it impact his extradition?

Choksi has been arrested in Belgium following an extradition request by the CBI and the ED – the two agencies probing his involvement in the PNB scam. His fugitive designation won't impact the process of extradition, however.

If declared a fugitive, the status would empower investigation agencies to confiscate Choksi’s assets in India and abroad, facilitating further legal actions against him.

Choksi was located in Belgium last year when he went there on the grounds of getting medical treatment. He had been staying in Antigua since 2018 after leaving India.

(With PTI inputs)