Absconding billionaire Mehul Choksi, a prime accused in the ₹13,000 crore Punjab National Bank (PNB) loan fraud case, has been arrested in Belgium following a formal extradition request from Indian authorities. The arrest, which took place on Saturday, marks a major breakthrough in the high-profile banking scam that rocked India in 2018.
Choksi, who fled India in 2018 and was living in Antigua, was recently traced to Belgium under the pretext of seeking medical treatment. Following the withdrawal of his Interpol Red Notice, Indian agencies have been pursuing his extradition through diplomatic and legal channels.
Sources confirm that at least two open-ended arrest warrants issued by a special Mumbai court in 2018 and 2021 were submitted to Belgian authorities as part of the ongoing extradition effort. Indian agencies are now preparing formal documentation to counter any bail plea Choksi might file on health grounds.
Alongside his nephew Nirav Modi, Choksi is accused of orchestrating a massive bank fraud through his firm Gitanjali Gems, allegedly in collusion with corrupt bank officials. According to investigations by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED), they fraudulently obtained 165 Letters of Undertaking (LoUs) and 58 Foreign Letters of Credit (FLCs) from PNB’s Brady House branch in Mumbai without proper documentation or margin.
These fraudulent LoUs enabled Choksi’s companies to secure massive credit from international branches of several Indian banks, including SBI Frankfurt, Axis Bank Hong Kong, and Canara Bank Manama, among others. When his companies failed to repay, PNB was forced to settle over ₹6,344 crore, including interest, to these banks.
The CBI has filed two charge sheets and the ED three prosecution complaints against Choksi. Assets worth ₹2,565.90 crore have been attached and are now approved for monetization by the court.
Meanwhile, Nirav Modi continues to remain lodged in a UK prison since 2019, contesting extradition to India in the same case. With Choksi’s arrest, pressure mounts on the Indian government to bring both fugitives to justice and recover public funds lost in one of the country’s largest banking scams.
