Fugitive jeweller Mehul Choksi has been arrested in Belgium, according to a source from India’s Enforcement Directorate, marking a significant development seven years after his alleged role in one of India’s largest banking frauds came to light.
The Indian government had already submitted an extradition request prior to Choksi’s detention. However, the source noted that Choksi is expected to contest the extradition on medical grounds.
The scandal first broke in 2018 when Punjab National Bank (PNB), India’s second-largest state-owned lender, revealed it had uncovered a $1.8 billion fraud at one of its Mumbai branches.
The bank filed a criminal complaint with federal authorities against multiple individuals, including Choksi and his nephew Nirav Modi, accusing them of orchestrating the massive fraud through fraudulent letters of undertaking.
Choksi, the former managing director of Gitanjali Gems, and Nirav Modi, a billionaire diamond merchant, were both charged with fraud by Indian authorities. Both men have consistently denied the allegations.
In a 2018 letter, Choksi accused Indian investigators of acting with bias and undermining the judicial process.
Nirav Modi fled India in early 2018, before the scandal became public. He was later arrested in the UK in 2019 and remains in custody, having lost one appeal against extradition to India.
