- By Shubham Bajpai
- Mon, 14 Apr 2025 12:34 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) achieved a breakthrough after the Belgian Police, on their complaint, arrested fugitive Mehul Choksi. India has been making efforts to extradite and initiate a trial against him over his alleged involvement in the Rs 13,500 crore Punjab National Bank (PNB) loan fraud case, but nothing has materialised so far.
As Choksi has been arrested, there are fresh hopes that he will finally be brought back to India to face justice.
What is the case?
Choksi is facing legal action by both the CBI and ED regarding a Rs 13,500 crore PNB scam after the bank filed a complaint. In its complaint, the bank claimed that it used fraudulent letters of undertaking, which led to significant financial losses for the bank. The ED is investigating the money laundering charges
How Choksi evaded arrest and extradition?
Mehul Choksi evaded arrest as he fled the country in January 2018, weeks before the scam came to light. He travelled via the United States to Antigua. He had applied for the citizenship of Antigua and Barbuda in 2017, which was approved in January 2018, when he assumed the citizenship of the country.
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In the absence of an extradition treaty between India and Antigua, the Indian officials were not able to bring him back. Moreover, he challenged the extradition request, citing poor prison conditions and political conspiracy.
In 2021, he went missing from Antigua and was located in Dominica. While Indian officials reached Dominica to get him back to India, the High Court sent him back to Antigua.
What led to his arrest in Belgium?
In February this year, it was informed to the Mumbai court that Choksi was in Belgium for treatment of suspected cancer. It was confirmed that he had received an F-Residency card on behalf of his wife, Preeti, who is a Belgian citizen.
F-Residency card is a stay permit given to the family members of Belgian citizens. The card also offers seamless travel through the European Union. Since India has an extradition treaty with Belgium, and F-Residencey Card holders can be extradited, Indian authorities informed the Belgian authorities, who cited two open-ended arrest warrants dated, May 23, 2018, and June 15, 2021.