Mehul Choksi Arrested In Belgium On India's Extradition Request
Fugitive Mehul Choksi has been arrested in Belgium, and India has started the process to extradite him in the PNB loan fraud case.
You all must have heard of Mehul Choksi and his nephew Nirav Modi. They are wanted by the CBI and Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with the ?13,500 crore Punjab National Bank (PNB) loan fraud case that happened in 2018.
Now, there is a big update. Mehul Choksi, who had escaped from India, has been caught by the Belgian police. India has officially requested Belgium to send Choksi back to India (extradite him).
The 65-year-old businessman was arrested on 12th April 2025 and is currently in jail. This news has been confirmed by Choksi’s lawyer, Vijay Aggarwal. He said they will challenge the arrest in court and oppose India’s extradition request. He also said that Choksi is very sick and is getting treatment for cancer.
Indian agencies have been trying to catch Choksi for more than 7 years across three different countries.
Choksi and Modi had left India in January 2018, just before the scam came to light. Choksi went to Antigua, where he had taken citizenship through an investment scheme. In 2021, he had gone missing from Antigua but was later found in Dominica. He was arrested there for illegal entry, but after 51 days in jail and legal battles, he was allowed to go back to Antigua. Indian agencies could not bring him back at that time.
In 2024, Indian authorities got information that Choksi was in Belgium. In March 2025, Belgium’s Foreign Ministry confirmed his presence. Choksi was living in Antwerp with his wife, Preeti Choksi, who is a Belgian citizen. Reports say he submitted fake documents to get residency and hid the fact that he had Indian and Antiguan citizenships.
In February 2025, Choksi’s lawyer told a Mumbai court that he could not come to India because he was taking cancer treatment in Belgium. He also said that Choksi was ready to appear before Indian courts through video conferencing, but this offer was rejected.
The Indian government has now requested Belgium to deport Choksi. Sources say India will use every possible legal way to bring him back. India and Belgium had signed a new extradition treaty in March 2020, which allows sending back people accused or convicted of serious crimes, including financial frauds.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had earlier informed that properties worth ?2,565 crore had been recovered or sold to pay back debts of people like Choksi.
If Choksi is extradited, it will be the second major extradition this year. The first was of terrorist Tahawwur Rana, accused in the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, who was sent from the USA.
