Belgian Court Approves Choksi Extradition
October 20, 25
(IDEX Online) - A Belgian court has ruled in favor of extraditing fugitive diamond trader Mehul Choksi to India, to stand trial over the $1.85bn Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud.
The Court of Appeals, in Antwerp, issued a preliminary judgment rejecting Choksi's appeal against extradition on Friday (17 October) and ruling that his arrest by Belgian authorities was valid.
Choksi has 15 days to appeal to Belgium's Supreme Court.
"The order has come in our favor," a senior official told news agency PTI. "The first legal step in getting him extradited is now clear."
Choksi, aged 66, has been denied bail a number of times since he was arrested in Antwerp in April.
Prosecutors told the court last week that he was a flight risk and should not be released pending a possible appeal.
Choksi, former owner of Gitanjali Group, a major jewelry retailer with over 4,000 points of sale globally, fled India in January 2018, just days before the PNB scandal became public.
He had already secured citizenship of Antigua and Barbuda in 2017 through its Citizenship by Investment Program.
In 2021, he went missing from Antigua and was later found in Dominica, where he was arrested for illegal entry. He claimed he'd been kidnapped by Indian agents. In April 2025 he was arrested in Belgium.
Choksi's nephew, Nirav Modi, 54, is also wanted in India for related charges and remains in custody in the UK, fighting extradition.
Screengrab from ABP News show Mehul Choksi in 2022.