'Choksi detained for further judicial proceeding': Belgium issues first statement
What's the story
Fugitive businessman Mehul Choksi, arrested in Belgium on Saturday at Indian authorities' request, is being kept for "further judicial proceedings," confirmed Belgian Federal Public Service of Justice. The agency, which operates like India's Ministry of Justice, has confirmed it received an extradition request from India for Choksi but said no further information can be revealed at this stage due to standard protocol.
Legal proceedings
Choksi's arrest follows CBI's extradition request
Choksi has been living in Belgium since he left Antigua and Barbuda last year. His arrest was made at the request of Indian authorities. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had requested Belgian officials to arrest Choksi last year before issuing an extradition request. But his lawyer told a Mumbai court in February that his client was in Belgium for medical treatment during hearings on the ED's plea to declare Choksi a fugitive under the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act (FEOA).
Extradition complexities
Choksi's extradition process may be lengthy
According to HT, an unnamed officer said the bail process for Choksi might take a long time, even as the CBI continues to speak with the Belgian authorities on the extradition request. Former diplomat KP Fabian referenced the recent extradition of 26/11 Mumbai terror accused Thawwur Rana from the US as an example, stating that it took 17 years for him to be deported.
Fraud charges
Choksi is wanted in ₹13,578 crore PNB fraud case
Choksi is wanted in India for his role in a Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud case. An Interpol Red Notice was issued against him in 2018, which was withdrawn in November 2022 after he alleged he was abducted by Indian agents from Antigua and Barbuda to Dominica. The same year, Interpol's Commission for the Control of Interpol's Files (CCF) accepted Choksi's appeal to remove RCN over alleged human rights violations and political persecution.
Political implications
Choksi's capture sparked political controversy in the Caribbean
Choksi's arrest has set off a political storm across the Caribbean, with opposition parties alleging that the governments of Dominica and Antigua and Barbuda colluded with India to have him abducted. The Antigua Royal Police investigated these abduction allegations based on Choksi's lawyers' complaints and found his claims corroborated. Dominica had first moved illegal entry proceedings against Choksi but later dropped its case and returned him to Antigua and Barbuda on July 15, 2021.
Case
He is wanted by CBI
Choksi is wanted by the CBI for allegedly defrauding the Punjab National Bank (PNB) of ₹13,850 crore. He allegedly perpetrated the crime along with his nephew Nirav Modi, his wife Ami Modi, and brother Neeshal Modi. From 2014 to 2017, Choksi purportedly worked with his associates and other PNB officials to illegally acquire Letters of Undertaking and Foreign Letters of Credit from PNB, therefore causing a loss of ₹6097.63 crore to the bank.