India To US, Antigua To Belgium: How Mehul Choksi Was Traced And Arrested Before Fleeing To Switzerland
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Mehul Choksi, accused in the Rs 13,000 crore PNB fraud case, was arrested in Belgium while allegedly trying to flee to Switzerland. The revocation of his citizenship is currently pending in court.
A file photo of Mehul Choksi (PTI)
Mehul Choksi, who was arrested in Belgium for his involvement in the Rs 13,000 crore Punjab National Bank loan fraud case, has been evading authorities since 2018. Various media reports suggest Choksi was finally arrested while he was planning to flee to Switzerland.
The action against the second “prime suspect” in this case, after Choksi’s nephew diamantaire Nirav Modi, was taken on April 12, based on an extradition request moved by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED).
News agency PTI quoted sources as saying that the Interpol Red Notice against Choksi for arrest was “deleted” sometime back and the Indian agencies have been pursuing him via the extradition route since then.
At least two open-ended arrest warrants, issued by a special court in Mumbai in 2018 and 2021, have been shared by the Indian agencies with their Belgian counterparts as part of the extradition request, the report claimed.
ALL WHERE MEHUL CHOKSI TRAVELLED BEFORE HIS ARREST
Choksi, Nirav Modi, their family members and employees, bank officials and others were booked by the CBI and the ED in 2018 for perpetrating the alleged loan fraud at the Brady House branch of the Punjab National Bank (PNB) in Mumbai.
He fled India the same year and initially travelled to the United States before settling in Antigua.
A year prior, in 2017, he had acquired Antiguan nationality.
He then travelled to Belgium on the grounds of getting medical treatment. Reports suggest he was being treated for blood cancer.
Later, he settled in Antigua and had been staying there since 2018.
In March 2023, Interpol revoked the red notice against Choksi.
In 2024, Choksi and his wife reportedly relocated from Antigua to Belgium.
Reports from Antiguan media suggested that Mehul and Preeti Choksi were considering settling in Geneva.
According to the investigating agencies, officials at PNB’s Brady House branch in Mumbai issued 165 LoUs and 58 FLCs during March-April 2017, against which 311 bills were discounted.
ANTIGUA PM SAYS REVOCATION OF HIS CITIZENSHIP ORDERED
Speaking exclusively to CNN-News18, Gaston Browne, Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda, confirmed that his government had ordered the revocation of Choksi’s citizenship. However, said the matter was pending in court.
“We ordered revocation of his citizenship but the matter is pending in courts. We tried extraditing him last time but it did not happen.
I don’t know much,” Browne told CNN-News18.
“We have a provision on dual citizenship, our position has always been very clear,” he added.