Mehul Choksi arrested in Belgium: Extradition to India closer or still a long road? Explained
Fugitive diamond merchant Mehul Choksi was arrest by Belgium police on Saturday, April 12. The government of Belgium confirmed that India had requested PNB scam-accused’s extradition to the country.
“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,” said the Belgian Federal Public Service of Justice in a statement.
Choksi, 65, wanted in India in connection with a ₹13,500-crorePunjab National Bank(PNB) loan fraud, has been evading authorities since 2018.
What next for the fugitive? Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led union government is working towards a quick extradition of Choksi after his arrest, according to reports.
NDTVquoted sources sayingthat “the government will use every legal tool available to bring him back.”
Is Choksi’s extradition imminent?
Law enforcement agencies in Belgium arrested Choksi at the request of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) – the two Indian agencies probing the case against Choksi. The agencies booked Choksi, and others in 2018 for perpetrating the alleged fraud in the Brady House branch of the PNB in Mumbai.
So far, the ED has filed three charge sheets against Choksi, while the CBI has also submitted similar charges.
As soon as the extradition process begins, the teams from the two central probing agencies will likely visit Belgium to prepare a case in accordance with the country’s laws.
What is India-Belgium Extradition Treaty?
In March 2020, the Union Cabinet, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, approved the signing and ratification of the extradition treaty between India and Belgium.
Both countries agreed to extradite to the other any person found in their territory who is accused or convicted of an extraditable offence in the other country’s territory.
The treaty allows extradition based on ‘dual criminality’, including for financial crimes. This means that an individual can be extradited only if the offence is punishable in both the countries.
The India- Belgium extradition treaty allows the transfer of fugitives accused of serious crimes such as murder, rape, manslaughter, bigamy, forgery, counterfeiting, embezzlement, and fraud.
The extradition of nationals is discretionary. The nationality will be determined at the time the offence was committed.
What are the hurdles?
Under the Treaty, extradition shall be refused if, the offence involved is a political offence or the offence for which extradition is requested is a military offence.
For now, it looks unlikely that Choksi will be in India soon. Even if the process is fast-tracked, the legal hurdles remain.
Choksi is expected to resort to legal means to defy extradition. This may include a request for bail, citing his age and medical condition. Choski is a cancer patient.
“My client is not a flight risk. He is extremely sick and is undergoing treatment for cancer,” Choksi’s lawyer, Vijay Aggarwal, told reporters after the arrest. Choksi and his wife, Preeti Choksi, a Belgian citizen, had been living in Antwerp after he obtained a ‘residency card’.
The 2021 ‘excuse’
In 2021, Indian authorities were in Roseau, the capital of Dominica in the Caribbean, to get Choksi back to India. His family and lawyers alleged Indian agents assaulted him there. Choksi was even threatened and asked to sign a consent form saying that he was going to India of his own will, they alleged, according to a report in the Indian Express.
Choksi was previously believed to have lived in Antigua and Barbuda before travelling to Belgium. After the controversy, Dominica withdrew the case against him and sent him back to Antigua and Barbuda, where he lived before. The Indian Express report says Choksi’s lawyers might use this incident to suggest that he may not get due process in India.
The allegations of human rights violations and poor prison conditions in the country may also prevent Choksi from returning to India.
What’s the case against Choksi?
Choksi, the diamond trader and the owner of Gitanjali Group is wanted in India in connection with a ₹13,500-crore PNB bank loan fraud case. Along with his nephew Nirav Modi, Choksi is accused in the PNB scam.
Choksi, Modi, their family members and employees, bank officials and others were booked by the ED and CBI in 2018 for perpetrating the alleged fraud in the Brady House branch of the PNB in Mumbai.
Choksi’s nephew, Nirav Modi, is lodged in a London jail and contesting his extradition to India after courts repeatedly denied him bail.
My client is not a flight risk. He is extremely sick and is undergoing treatment for cancer.
