16-05-2025
Mehul Choksi to stay in Antwerp jail till June 13 as court defers trial
Fugitive diamantaire Mehul Choksi will remain in a prison in Antwerp for another month as a court there, after hearing arguments on extradition proceedings from the Indian government and his legal team, adjourned the matter for June 13, people familiar with the development said.
Choksi, officials quoted above said, didn't press for bail at the hearing on Friday.
Accused in the Punjab National Bank fraud and five similar cases, Choksi was arrested on April 11 by the Antwerp police based on an extradition request sent by India's Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) last year. He has been lodged in a prison there since then. While rejecting his plea for bail on April 22, a court of appeal in Antwerp said the fears about him fleeing from Belgian authorities are legitimate.
Also Read | CBI sends fresh proof before Mehul Choksi's hearing
'There were arguments today on the validity of India's extradition request during which both sides (Belgian prosecutors on behalf of India and Choksi's legal team) made their submissions. They (Choksi's legal team) didn't insist on bail,' said one of the officers cited above and familiar with the court proceedings that took place on Friday.
During the hearing, this officer said, Indian officials submitted a stack of documentary evidence before the Antwerp court. HT reported on Friday that CBI sent fresh warrants and evidence in four more fraud cases to the Belgian prosecutors to strengthen New Delhi's extradition request.
The federal agency, a second officer said, is also set to send its team to Belgium to brief the Belgian prosecutors and hire a legal team before the next hearing on June 13.
Challenging the extradition's legality, Choksi's lawyers argued on Friday that India sent its request in Hindi and Belgian languages even though the charge sheets and all court documents in India are in English, said the second officer.
Also Read | CBI applies for non-bailable warrant against Choksi in ₹55 cr bank fraud case
Choksi's lawyers also argued that India didn't inform Belgium authorities that Interpol, in 2022, withdrew a red notice issued against him, said the second officer.
This decision of Interpol has already been challenged by the CBI in the global police body and a decision is pending.
A second officer involved in the probe said on Friday that 'it is important that Mehul Choksi remain in prison for another month.'
'We have strong evidence and grounds to convince the Belgian courts that he is a habitual offender and jumps extradition proceedings as seen in the US and Antigua and Barbuda. So, when the matter comes up for hearing on June 13, we will vehemently oppose his release,' this officer said.
CBI filed six bank fraud cases against Choksi and his companies between 2018 and 2022 involving amounts totaling nearly ₹13,000 crore.
Choksi was tracked by the CBI to Belgium in July last year after which it approached the Belgian government with a formal extradition request.
The 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.
Besides, CBI also invoked the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (UNTOC) and United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) in its extradition request.
The Belgium government examined India's request at various levels and approved initiating action in the matter after it was convinced about the 'dual criminality' clause in the 1901 extradition treaty between two countries.
Choksi has evaded the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) -- which is conducting a parallel money laundering probe -- since 2018. After fleeing from India in January 2018, he acquired the citizenship of Antigua and Barbuda.
