Union Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal
Credit: PTI Photo
Mehul Choksi Arrest LIVE | Mehul Choksi arrested in Belgium on India's extradition request
Absconding diamantaire Mehul Choksi has been arrested in Belgium following an extradition request by Indian probe agencies for his involvement in the Rs 13,000 crore PNB bank loan "fraud" case, official sources said on Monday.
The action against the second "prime suspect" in this case, after Choksi's nephew diamantaire Nirav Modi, was taken on Saturday based on an extradition request moved by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED).
Choksi was located in Belgium last year when he went there on the grounds of getting medical treatment. He had been staying in Antigua since 2018 after leaving India.
Sources said the Interpol Red Notice against him for arrest was "deleted" sometime back and the Indian agencies were pursuing him via the extradition route since then.
At least two open-ended arrest warrants, issued by a special court in Mumbai in 2018 and 2021, have been shared by the Indian agencies with their Belgian counterparts as part of the extradition request, the sources said.
Formal paperwork is being done following the arrest/detention as Choksi may seek bail on health grounds, they said.
Mehul Choksi Arrest LIVE | What is the Mehul Choksi case?
It was alleged that Choksi, his firm Gitanjali Gems and others "committed the offence of cheating against PNB in connivance with certain bank officials by fraudulently getting the LOUs (letters of undertaking) issued and got the FLCs (foreign letter of credit) enhanced without following prescribed procedure and caused a wrongful loss to the bank".
The CBI has filed at least two chargesheets against him in this case while the ED has filed three such prosecution complaints.
According to the investigating agencies, officials at PNB's Brady House branch in Mumbai issued 165 LoUs and 58 FLCs during March-April 2017, against which 311 bills were discounted.
These LoUs and FLCs were allegedly issued to Choksi's firms without any sanctioned limit or cash margin and without making entries in PNB's central banking system to evade any scrutiny in case of a default.
LoUs are a guarantee given by a bank on behalf of its client to a foreign bank. If the client does not repay the foreign bank, the liability falls on the guarantor bank.
Based on these LoUs by PNB, money was lent by SBI, Mauritius; Allahabad Bank, Hong Kong; Axis Bank, Hong Kong; Bank of India, Antwerp; Canara Bank, Manama; and State Bank of India, Frankfurt.
"Since the accused companies did not repay the amount availed against the said fraudulent LoUs and FLCs, PNB made the payment of Rs 6,344.97 crore (USD 965.18 million), including the overdue interest, to the overseas banks, which had advanced buyer's credit and discounted the bills against the fraudulent LoUs and FLCs issued by the PNB," the CBI's supplementary charge sheet in the PNB bank fraud case alleged.
The ED has attached or seized assets worth Rs 2,565.90 crore in the case against Choksi and the court has allowed "monetisation" of all these properties.
Mehul Choksi Arrest LIVE | His wallet is full, and he will employ the best advocates in Europe, as Vijay Mallya has been doing: Punjab National Bank Scam whistle-blower Hariprasad SV
Mehul Choksi Arrest LIVE | We will be requesting that he be pulled out of prison, says his Advocate Vijay Aggarwal
"My client Mehul Choksi has been arrested in Belgium and at the moment, he is in custody. We will be starting the process of filing an appeal against this, and then, as a process of appeal, we will be requesting that he be pulled out of prison. The major ground for the plea is his ill health and that he is undergoing cancer treatment..."
Mehul Choksi Arrest LIVE | I don't think extradition can be done so easily, says fugitive businessman's advocate
"This is a process of any country, whether it is India or anywhere else... If a country makes a request to another country, then the process is that first the person is arrested and then he is granted bail and then his extradition is contested. It has become very difficult for India after losing the case of Sanjiv Bhandari. I don't think extradition can be done so easily, moreover after Bhandari's judgement."
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Mehul Choksi Arrest LIVE | Belgian Federal Public Service of Justice issues statement on fugitive businessman's arrest
The Belgian Federal Public Service of Justice says, "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."
Mehul Choksi Arrest LIVE | Fugitive bizman's arrest result of successful diplomacy of Modi govt: Law Minister
Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal on Sunday said the arrest of absconding diamantaire Mehul Choksi in Belgium is a victory of Indian diplomacy under the Modi government.
"It is a matter of pride for India," he told reporters here.
The arrest became possible due to the successful diplomacy of the government under the leadership of Narendra Modi, he said. (PTI)
Mehul Choksi Arrest LIVE | Great successfor Indian govt and central agencies, says former ED director
"This is a great success for both the Indian government and Indian agencies- Central Bureau of Investigation and Enforcement Directorate. This is an extradition process and in any country, it can be said that it happens in two stages. The first stage is to accept the extradition request politically and bureaucratically. His arrest means they have accepted that they have to execute this extradition request. Now in the court, the Belgian government will fight on our behalf to bring him to India. So this is a big success for India," said former ED director Karnal Singh.
"We have a lot of evidence and we will succeed in the judicial process and he will come to India... The CBI and ED have good evidence. The Enforcement Director has evidence of how he withdrew money from the bank, how he diverted it, how he used it for personal use. So we will succeed in the judicial process as well," he added.
Mehul Choksi Arrest LIVE | The way financial fugitives have escaped Modi govt since 2014, there should be accountability for that, says Congress leader Supriya Shrinate
" Whether it is Nirav Modi, Mehul Choksi, Vinay Mittal or Vijay Mallya, all such people who looted lakhs and crores of rupees and left, have not been brought back... The way financial fugitives have escaped from under PM Modi's nose after 2014, there should be accountability for that. All of this means nothing till people's money is not returned," said the Congress leader.
Mehul Choksi Arrest LIVE | ED's plea to declare Mehul Choksi fugitive economic offender stuck in Mumbai court for 7 years
Even as absconding diamantaire Mehul Choksi, a key accused in the Punjab National Bank loan fraud case, has been arrested in Belgium, the ED's plea to declare him a fugitive economic offender has been pending before a court in Mumbai for nearly seven years.
The Enforcement Directorate had filed the application in July 2018, seeking to declare Choksi an FEO and confiscate his assets under provisions of the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act.
However, the matter has witnessed repeated delays owing to a barrage of applications filed by the accused in the PMLA court and the Bombay High Court alleging procedural lapses in the Enforcement Directorate's plea. (PTI)
Mehul Choksi Arrest LIVE | Choksi ran away under Modi govt's watch...when will money be recovered, asks AAP
"BJP is used to taking credit. Who made Mehul Choksi run away? It was the BJP leaders. Mehul Choksi became a fugitive under the watch of PM Narendra Modi's government... When will the money be recovered? That needs to be asked," said AAP spokesperson Priyanka Kakkar.
Mehul Choksi Arrest LIVE | Visuals from fugitive bizman's residence at Gokul Apartments in Malabar Hill, which was attached by the ED
Mehul Choksi Arrest LIVE | Fugitive diamantaire to appeal arrest, oppose extradition
Choksi's lawyer said grounds for the appeal would be that Choksi is 'not a flight risk, is extremely sick and undergoing treatment for cancer'. Choksi would also argue that this is a 'political case and the human condition (in Indian prisons) was not good'.
Mehul Choksi Arrest LIVE | 'Hope Adani questioned soon,' says Robert Vadra
Sonia Gandhi's son-in-law Robert Vadra on Monday said anyone indulging in wrongdoings should be arrested, as he hoped for questioning of businessman Gautam Adani.
Asked about the arrest of fugitive Mehul Choksi in Belgium, Vadra said, "Any person who does wrong should be arrested. I hope Adani ji is also questioned, on what the Opposition, Rahul Gandhi asks in the Parliament."
Asked about when he would enter Parliament, the businessman, who is married to Wayanad MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, said he would when the Congress needs him to.
Vadra has been nurturing political ambitions and has often talked about entering politics. (PTI)