New Delhi: Fugitive businessman Mehul Choksi, arrested in Belgium on April 12 following a request from Indian authorities, is being detained in “anticipation of further judicial proceedings”, the Belgian federal public service of justice said on Monday.
The Belgian federal public service of justice, which is the equivalent of the justice ministry, confirmed the arrest and the receipt of an extradition request for Choksi from Indian authorities.
“He [Choksi] is being detained in anticipation of further judicial proceedings. Access to his legal counsel has been assured,” the federal public service of justice told HT.
The “Belgian federal public service of Justice can confirm that the Indian authorities have introduced an extradition request for Mr Choksi. As is standard in individual cases, no further details can be released at this stage,” it said.
Choksi, who has been living in Belgium since he left Antigua and Barbuda last year, was arrested on India’s request, people familiar with the matter said. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) requested Belgian authorities to arrest Choksi last year, before sending an extradition request.
Choksi’s lawyer, Vijay Aggarwal, told a Mumbai court in February that his client was in Belgium for medical treatment. The court was hearing the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) plea to declare Choksi a fugitive under the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act (FEOA).
An officer, who didn’t want to be named, said Choksi’s bail would take time even as the CBI is in touch with Belgian authorities to execute the extradition request.
During a visit to New Delhi in March, Antigua and Barbuda foreign minister Chet Greene said Choksi remains a citizen of the Caribbean nation though he had left the country for medical treatment. He also said the matter of Choksi’s citizenship was undergoing a legal review.
“[The Indian] government and my government are working together on this matter. We have some traditions in democracy. We both respect the rule of law. The matter of Mehul Choksi has been subjected to a legal review,” Greene told ANI news agency. “Until such time it is reviewed and determined, there is nothing I can say.”
Choksi is wanted in India in a Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud case. An Interpol red notice was issued against him in 2018. It was withdrawn in November 2022 after Choksi approached Interpol, alleging Indian agents abducted him from Antigua and Barbuda in May 2021 on a yacht to Dominica.
The Indian government flew in a team of investigators to secure his deportation from Dominica, where he was not a citizen. Choksi filed a petition in the Dominican high court alleging abduction and torture.
Prosecutors appearing for India filed a request in Dominica in June 2021, alleging that Choksi was the mastermind of a ₹13,578 crore loan fraud and owed ₹7,080 crore ($952 million) to state-owned PNB. They sought to declare him an Indian citizen and deport him.
Choksi’s capture caused a political storm in the Caribbean, with opposition parties accusing the governments of Dominica and Antigua and Barbuda of colluding with India to abduct the businessman.
Antigua Royal Police investigated the alleged abduction based on the complaint from Choksi’s lawyers. Their findings mirrored Choksi’s allegations.
Dominica, which initiated illegal entry proceedings against Choksi, withdrew its case and sent him back to Antigua and Barbuda on July 15, 2021.
The CBI has filed three more cases against Choksi for allegedly cheating banks, including ICICI Bank, of ₹6,746 crore. The ED is conducting a parallel money laundering probe against Choksi. It has attached his properties worth over ₹2,500 crore and initiated their restitution.