Mehul Choksi extradition: Govt to use every legal tool available to bring him back - report

Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led union government is working towards a quick extradition of fugitive diamond merchant Mehul Choksi after his arrest by Belgium police on Saturday, April 12. The government of Belgium confirmed that India had requested PNB scam-accused extradition.

Choksi, 65, wanted in India in connection with a ₹13,500-crore Punjab National Bank (PNB) loan fraud, has been evading authorities since 2018.

Government sources told NDTV that a request to deport Choksi to India has been made. “The government will use every legal tool available to bring him back.”

The Belgian Federal Public Service of Justice said that Mehul Choksi was arrested on Saturday, April 12, 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 can confirm that the Indian authorities have introduced an extradition request for Choksi," it said. 

If Choksi—on the run since 2018—is brought back to India, he will be the second high-profile extradition this year, after terrorist Tahawwur Rana, a 26/11 Mumbai terror attack accused, was extradited from the US last week.

Choksi is expected to resort to legal means to defy extradition. This may include a request for bail, citing his age and medical condition. Choski is a cancer patient.

“My client is not a flight risk. He is extremely sick and is undergoing treatment for cancer,” Choski's lawyer, Vijay Aggarwal, told reporters after the arrest. Choksi and his wife, Preeti Choksi, a Belgian citizen, had been living in Antwerp after he obtained a 'residency card'.

What's the case?

Choksi, the absconding diamond trader and the 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 accused in the PNB scam. The duo allegedly defrauded the bank of more than ₹13,500 crore.

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

So far, the ED has filed three charge sheets against Choksi, while the CBI has also submitted similar charges.

Choksi was previously believed to have lived in Antigua and Barbuda before travelling to Belgium.  Choksi's nephew, Nirav Modi, lodged in a London jail, is contesting his extradition to India after repeated denial of bail by courts. 

In May 2021, Choksi went missing from Antigua but was traced and returned to it later.

Earlier, reports from Antiguan media suggested that Mehul and Preeti Choksi are considering settling in Geneva. Earlier this year, Choksi's legal counsel informed a special court in Mumbai that he is currently in Antwerp, Belgium, undergoing treatment for blood cancer.