Mehul Choksi's extradition suspended amid fugitive diamantaire's appeal in Belgium Supreme Court
The public prosecutor at the Antwerp Court of Appeals, Ken Witpas said during the process of Mehul Choksi's appeal in the Belgium Supreme Court, ‘execution of the fugitive merchant's extradition is suspended’
Fugitive diamantaire Mehul Choksi's extradition has been suspended after he challenged before the Supreme Court of Belgium the October 17 order of the Antwerp Court of Appeals, which had termed India's request seeking his extradition "enforceable", officials said Monday.
"This appeal is strictly limited to legal merits and will be judged by the Court of Cassation. During this procedure, the execution of the extradition is suspended," Ken Witpas, the public prosecutor at the Court of Appeal in Antwerp, told PTI.
The Court of Cassation is the Supreme Court of Belgium.
Witpas said Chiksy – the owner of the jewellery chain, Gitanjali Group – filed an appeal in the Court of Cassation on October 30. He is wanted in the ₹13,000 crore Punjab National Bank fraud case
What was the Antwerp Court of Appeals' order?
On October 17, the Court of Appeals in Antwerp termed the arrest warrants issued by a Mumbai special court in May 2018 and June 2021 as "enforceable", allowing Choksi's extradition.
The Court of Appeals ruled that fugitive diamond trader faces "no risk" of being denied a fair trial or subjected to ill-treatment if he is extradited to India.
Mehul Choksi has been running from the Indian authorities after allegedly committing the ₹13,000 crore PNB fraud with his nephew Nirav Modi. He had been in Belgium since 2023.
Inside the PNB fraud case
The fraud came to light in February 2018. Choksi allegedly conspired with Punjab National Bank officials and associates to fraudulently obtain Letters of Undertaking and Foreign Letters of Credit without following the bank’s prescribed procedures, which were later used to raise credit from overseas banks.
All of it led to a loss of ₹6,097.63 crore to PNB. This was reportedly part of a broader Rs13,850 crore scam involving Choksi and his nephew, Nirav Modi, marking one of India’s biggest banking frauds to date.
Nirav Modi was arrested in London in 2019.
What charges Mehul Choksi is facing?
Mehul Choksi is facing cases under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections related to criminal conspiracy, cheating, and falsification of accounts, along with provisions under the Prevention of Corruption Act, which constitute crimes in Belgium as well, news agencies had reported earlier.
What's next for Choksi?
Following his extradition to India, Mehul Choksi is likely to be held at the Barrack no 12 at Arthur Road Jail in Mumbai, Hindustan Times reported last month.
According to HT, the Indian government had assured Belgium that Choksi, if extradited to India, will be held at the Barrack no 12 at Arthur Road Jail in Mumbai, which conforms to the European CPT (Committee for Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment).