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New Delhi: In a significant development, the Belgian court has ordered fugitive diamantaire Mehul Choksi’s extradition to India and labelled his arrest by the Belgian authorities based on India’s request as valid. With this, India comes a step closer to bringing Choksi back to the Indian soil.
Reports say that Choksi still may opt to appeal against the decision in a higher court. One of the officials added that “this means he may not come immediately but the first and a very important stage is cleared”. The Antwerp court heard both sides, Belgian prosecutors (on behalf of India) and Choksi, on Friday and ruled that his arrest and India’s extradition request was valid.
Choksi, 65, was arrested by Antwerp police on April 11, acting upon an extradition request sent by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), and has been lodged in prison there for over four months. His repeated attempts to secure bail from different courts in Belgium have failed.
His extradition was sought under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 120 B (criminal conspiracy), 201 (destruction of evidence), 409 (criminal breach of trust), 420 (cheating), 477A (falsification of accounts), and sections 7 and 13 (bribery) of the Prevention of Corruption Act; which are crimes in Belgium as well under the dual criminality clause of the extradition treaty. The United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (UNTOC) and United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) were also invoked in the extradition request.
During ongoing extradition proceedings in Belgian courts, India has mounted a strong case for the return of fugitive businessman Choksi, wanted in connection with a 950 million dollar fraud. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has sent teams to Belgium on multiple occasions and engaged a private European law firm to support its legal efforts. India has showcased detailed evidence of fraud, diversion of funds, and Choksi’s repeated attempts to evade the legal process. Investigators have also submitted documentation linking him to six bank frauds between 2018 and 2022, involving a total of nearly Rs 13,000 crore.
In a significant assurance to the Belgian government, India has promised that if extradited, Choksi will be housed in Barrack No. 12 of Mumbai’s Arthur Road Jail—a facility that meets the standards laid out by the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT). The Indian side has guaranteed clean drinking water, adequate food, medical care, access to newspapers and television, and the option to consult private doctors, while also assuring that he will not be placed in solitary confinement.
India continues to maintain that Choksi remains an Indian citizen, despite his claim of acquiring Antiguan and Barbudan citizenship in November 2017. He argues he renounced Indian citizenship in December 2018, a claim India disputes. Choksi was tracked to Belgium by the CBI in July last year, after which India filed a formal extradition request. The Belgian court has already acknowledged a prima facie risk of him fleeing, strengthening India's case for his extradition.
