Antwerp court hears fugitive Choksi's extradition plea

An Antwerp court on Friday heard the arguments on Mehul Choksi's extradition to India, with detailed evidence presented by the investigators regarding the fugitive diamantaire's fraudulent activities while his legal team sought his release, according to people familiar with the development.

- Press Trust of India

NEW DELHI:

Choksi is accused of siphoning off ₹6,097 crore from the Punjab National Bank and five other similar bank frauds before fleeing from India in January 2018 and was arrested by Antwerp police on April 11, based on an extradition request sent by CBI. He has already spent two months behind the bar there. On Friday, the court did not give any relief to him and the matter will now be heard in late August.

As reported by HT last month, Indian investigators have submitted evidence to the prosecutors in Belgium against Choksi in six bank frauds committed by him between 2018 and 2022 involving amounts totalling nearly ₹13,000 crore and court is already convinced that there is prima facie fear of him fleeing. An officer who didn't want to be named said "detailed arguments took place in the court on Friday but the court order was not out till late evening".

India has put forth arguments that Choksi is a habitual offender and jumps extradition proceedings wherever he is found, as seen in the US and Antigua and Barbuda, the officer cited above said. Choksi was tracked by the CBI to Belgium in July last year after which it approached the Belgian government with a formal extradition request.