CBI sends fresh proof before Choksi hearing

Ahead of an Antwerp court's scheduled hearing of jailed fugitive diamantaire Mehul Choksi's bail plea on Friday, India has sent fresh evidence in four more bank fraud cases other than the Punjab National Bank (PNB) case along with warrants to the Belgian authorities in a bid to strengthen its extradition request, people familiar with the matter said on Thursday.

- Neeraj Chauhan

Indian authorities are also likely to hire a legal team in Europe to assist the local team of Belgian prosecutors during the extradition proceedings, they added.

Choksi, 65, was arrested on April 11 by the Antwerp police based on an extradition request sent by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) last year and has been lodged in a prison there for over a month now. While rejecting his plea for bail on April 22, a court of appeal in Antwerp said fears about him fleeing are legitimate.

CBI filed six bank fraud cases against Choksi and his companies between 2018 and 2022 involving amounts totaling nearly Rs 13,000 crore.

An official familiar with the development said: "Last year, along with an extradition request sent in August, we sent evidence and non-bailable warrants issued by Indian courts against Choksi in two cases - the February 2018 PNB case in which Choksi is accused of swindling Rs 6,097 crore and the May 2022 case pertaining to a Rs 25 crore fraud involving IFCI".