Loan fraud of Rs 13,500 crore; Diamond merchant Mehul Choksi arrested in Belgium

NEW DELHI: Indian diamond merchant and accused in a multi-crore financial fraud case Mehul Choksi has been arrested in Belgium. Choksi was arrested by the Belgian police on the instructions of national agencies in the Punjab National Bank financial fraud case. Reports said the accused, who was arrested on Saturday, is presently in a jail there. Choksi will be deported to India soon. Choksi, who is being investigated in a case of a loan fraud of Rs 13,5000 crore from Punjab National Bank, was living in Belgium with his wife Preeti Choksi.

Mehul Choksi, founder of Gitanjali Gems, is reported to have moved to Belgium on November 15, 2023. His wife Preeti Choksi is a Belgian citizen. The case alleged that Mehul Choksi and his nephew Nirav Modi committed a loan fraud at Punjab National Bank. India has applied to a British court to extradite Nirav, who is in a London jail.

A Mumbai court had issued two non-bailable warrants against Choksi on May 23, 2018 and June 15, 2021. Mehul Choksi's disappearance from Antigua in May 2021 had sparked a major controversy. The Belgian Foreign Ministry recently confirmed that Choksi was in Belgium. There were also rumors that Choksi was preparing to move to Switzerland for cancer treatment. He was arrested amidst this.