Indian jeweller wanted over US$1.8 billion fraud, arrested in Belgium after 7-year manhunt
Mehul Choksi, accused in one of India’s biggest bank frauds, was arrested in Belgium, plans to challenge extradition, citing health issues and cancer treatment
Fugitive jeweller Mehul Choksi has been arrested in Belgium, a source with India’s Enforcement Directorate said, seven years after details of his involvement in one of India’s biggest bank frauds became public.
The Indian government had sent a request for Choksi’s extradition before his arrest, but he is likely to challenge it on medical grounds, the source added.
Punjab National Bank (PNB), India’s second largest state-run lender by assets, had announced in 2018 that it had discovered alleged fraud worth US$1.8 billion at a single branch in Mumbai.
The bank had filed a criminal complaint with India’s federal investigative agency against several entities including billionaire jeweller Nirav Modi and Choksi, his uncle and the managing director of Gitanjali Gems, saying they had defrauded PNB.
Indian federal police filed fraud charges against Choksi, Nirav Modi and others in connection with suspected involvement in fraudulent transactions that led to huge losses for PNB.
The two diamond tycoons have denied any wrongdoing.