Why Mehul Choksi, arrested in Belgium, is unlikely to be in India soon

Fugitive diamantaire Mehul Choksi has been arrested in Belgium after an extradition request by Indian probe agencies in relation to the Rs 13,500 crore Punjab National Bank (PNB) loan fraud case. The 65-year-old had fled his home country in 2018, weeks before the alleged scam came to light.

Choksi, who is wanted in India, was arrested on Saturday (April 12) by the Belgian Police in Antwerp following an extradition request by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED). Last month, reports emerged that Choksi is living in Belgium’s port city of Antwerp along with his wife, Preeti Choksi, a citizen of Belgium.

While Choksi has been arrested, his extradition to India from Belgium is not easy. We will explain why.

India-Belgium extradition treaty

India and Belgium have an extradition treaty that allows them to send back fugitives based on “dual criminality”, including for financial crimes.

Dual criminality means that a person can be extradited only if the crime is punishable according to the laws in force in both countries.

Notably, the treaty allows for the rejection of extradition requests if the offence involved is political in nature. The arrested person can be released if the requesting country is unable to present evidence of culpability within two months.

In 2023, India and Belgium signed Mutual Legal Assistance Treaties (MLATs), which require both nations to put into effect each other’s search warrants and summons against fugitives wanted by their investigating agencies.

Can Mehul Choksi be extradited?

Yes, but the extradition process is not simple.

After Belgium arrested Mehul Choksi , government sources told NDTV that a request had been made to extradite him. “The government will use every legal tool available to bring him back.”

The Indian probe agencies have shared at least two open-ended arrest warrants, issued by a special court in Mumbai in 2018 and 2021 against Choksi, with their Belgian counterparts, sources told PTI.

Formal paperwork is underway after his arrest.

Once the extradition process starts, teams from the CBI and the ED will visit Belgium to prepare a case as per the European country’s laws, as per Indian Express.

However, there is no guarantee that Choksi will be back in India anytime soon. The extradition process is lengthy and the fugitive businessman’s lawyers will challenge his return to India on various grounds.

Speaking to reporters on Monday (April 14), his lawyer, Vijay Aggarwal, said they will file an appeal, arguing Choksi’s “human rights” will be “greatly affected” if he is extradited to India.

He said the “obvious” grounds for the appeal would be that the businessman is “not a flight risk, is extremely sick and undergoing treatment for cancer”.

As per reports, Choksi arrived in Belgium last year for his cancer treatment from Antigua and Barbuda.

Aggarwal said they also plan to argue that this is a “political case and the human condition (in Indian prisons) was not good”.

Former Additional Solicitor General Aman Lekhi told India Today that India does not “have a very strong record of extraditions from Europe”.

He said Choksi’s defence on the grounds of medical treatment could delay his travel till the examination of his condition but would not stop his extradition.

“As far as Choksi is concerned, for the past seven to eight years, his medical condition hasn’t prevented him from travelling. The fact that he moves from country to country and makes misrepresentations suggests an attempt to evade the legal process,” Lekhi said. “This shows an implicit acknowledgement of his criminal liability, and such factors are taken into consideration.”

Speaking to CNN-News18, Choksi’s lawyer also referred to a UK court rejecting India’s request to appeal in Britain’s Supreme Court against the discharge of Sanjay Bhandari, a consultant in the defence sector wanted in India for tax evasion and money laundering charges.

Denying the Indian government’s request, the High Court in London said last week that the defence consultant would be at risk “of extortion and violence" from “other prisoners and prison officials" in Delhi’s Tihar jail.

Addressing the grounds for Choksi’s appeal, Aggarwal said, “Generally there are two grounds– this is a political case and human rights of the client will be affected. We will make a strong case based on the Bhandari judgment which has come that said Indian prison conditions are not human."

Lekhi said Choksi’s detention in Belgium jail will continue unless he is granted bail, reported India Today.

Choksi’s lawyers are also expected to raise the failed attempt to bring the jeweller from Dominica to India in 2021, according to Indian Express. 

Photos of the businessman in a wheelchair with a black eye and bruised face in Dominica surfaced in local media in May 2021. He was arrested for illegally entering the Caribbean country.

Soon, CBI and Ministry of External Affairs officials reached Dominica to bring him back to India but in vain. Choksi’s family and lawyers accused Indian agents of abducting the businessman in Antigua, torturing and forcibly bringing him to the Dominican Republic on a boat with the help of a Hungarian national Barbara Jabarika.

His lawyers alleged Choksi was threatened to sign a consent form that said he was going to India of his own will. After this, the businessman got relief as Dominica withdrew its case against him and sent him back to Antigua.

In 2023, Interpol scrapped its Red Corner Notice against Choksi, citing that he was “abducted” for “deportation” to India, and there was a “risk” of him not getting a fair trial in the country.

Choksi’s Antiguan citizenship could also complicate his extradition from Belgium to India.

“I don’t think he’ll be on a flight to India soon,” Senior Advocate Sanjay Hegde told India Today.

With inputs from agencies