Mehul Choksi. File pic
Minister of State for Finance, Pankaj Chaudhary, has hailed the arrest of fugitive Indian businessman Mehul Choksi in Belgium as a "very big achievement" for the country's law enforcement and justice systems.
According to ANI, Choksi was apprehended by local authorities in Belgium on Saturday after his presence in the country was confirmed. The arrest is a result of continuous efforts by Indian investigation agencies, including the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED), who had issued extradition requests and arrest warrants since 2018.
Speaking to ANI, Chaudhary reaffirmed the government's determination to bring back those who have fled the country after allegedly looting public money. "Prime Minister Narendra Modi had already said that those who have looted the money of the poor will have to return it. And action is being taken against such people in the country. Mehul Choksi has been arrested; it is definitely a very big achievement," Chaudhary stated.
Choksi, who had been residing in Antigua since 2018, had travelled to Belgium last year, reportedly for medical treatment. Preparations for his extradition to India are now underway. However, Choksi's legal team is expected to seek bail and oppose extradition on health grounds.
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The 65-year-old diamantaire is one of the key accused in the Rs 13,850 crore Punjab National Bank (PNB) loan fraud, alongside his nephew Nirav Modi. Both are wanted by the CBI and ED for allegedly defrauding the bank by fraudulently obtaining Letters of Undertaking (LoUs) and Foreign Letters of Credit (FLCs) between 2014 and 2017. These financial instruments were used without sanctioned credit limits or required collateral, and without proper entry in PNB's central banking system.
Multiple overseas banks including SBI (Mauritius and Frankfurt), Canara Bank (Manama), Allahabad Bank (Hong Kong), Axis Bank (Hong Kong), and Bank of India (Antwerp) disbursed loans based on these LoUs and FLCs. Due to non-repayment by Choksi's firms, PNB ended up paying Rs 6,344.97 crore, including overdue interest, to the foreign banks.
The ED has, so far, attached or seized assets worth Rs 2,565.90 crore in relation to the case. The court has approved the monetisation of these properties.
Mehul Choksi had earlier fled India in January 2018 and acquired citizenship in Antigua in 2017. He was previously detained in Dominica under controversial circumstances, where he claimed he had been abducted. Though India sought his extradition then, Dominica deported him back to Antigua.
Nirav Modi, meanwhile, remains in a London jail and continues to fight his extradition case.
(With inputs from ANI)
