Mehul Choksi's bail square: CBI, ED team to visit Belgium to strive the extradition of the jeweler over PNB scam for the jewelery statements, | Today news

Fugitive Diamantaire Mehul Choksi was arrested in Belgium following a request from the Indian authorities related to the loan fraud case of the £ 14,000 crore loan fraud. The arrest, which took place on Sunday, paved the way for an important legal battle in Belgian courts, with India placing on its extradition, News 18 reports. Officers of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the maintenance of Directorate (ED) are reportedly shortlisted to visit Belgium. They will complete documentation and coordinate with the Belgian government to execute the extradition procedure. The CBI issued a formal extradition request after finding Choxi in Belgium earlier this year. He was granted in the country in the country in November 2023. The arrest is based on two warrants not available, issued by a court in Mumbai on May 23, 2018, and June 15, 2021. Choksi, with his cousin Nirav Modi, is accused of cheating on PNB through the fraud system, with a massive loss to the Indian banking system. He has already been declared a volatile economic offender (FEO) by the Indian authorities. Bail application to be submitted on medical grounds, Choksi’s legal team is now preparing to challenge the arrest and extradition. His lawyer, Vijay Aggarwal, told CNN-News18 that a bail application on medical grounds would be filed, as Choksi allegedly underwent cancer treatment. Aggarwal also indicated that the legal challenge would include human rights, citing alleged poor prison conditions in India. Referring to the recent ruling in the Supreme Court in the Sanjay Bhandari case, Aggarwal said: ‘In general, there are two grounds – this is a political matter, and the client’s human rights will be affected.’ The London Court has denied India’s extradition request for Bhandari for the risk of ‘extortion and violence’ in Indian prisons, especially in the Tihar jail. The Justice Department in Belgium confirmed to CNN-News18 that the Indian side had submitted an extradition request. As the legal action unfolds, the focus will be on the way the Belgian Court weighs India’s claim against Choksi’s claims about medical vulnerability and concerns about supervisory conditions in India. First published: 14 Apr 2025, 22:52 IST