Mehul Choksi’s return confirmed, last hope from Belgian court also broken, appeal against extradition rejected

Belgium Supreme Court Mehul Choksi: The process of bringing fugitive diamantaire Mehul Choksi to India may now get faster as the Supreme Court of Belgium on Tuesday rejected his anti-extradition appeal.

Choksi had filed an appeal challenging the extradition to India, but the court clearly said that the appeal has no merit, hence it is rejected. After this decision of the court, the already implemented decision of the appellate court will remain intact.

Now the extradition process can start

Court of Cassation spokesman and Advocate General Henri Vanderlinden said the Court of Cassation had rejected the appeal. This means the Court of Appeal decision stands and the extradition process can proceed.

The Antwerp Appellate Court had already accepted India’s extradition request and declared it enforceable. The court also held that Choksi faces no risk of being denied a fair trial or ill-treated after extradition to India. According to the court, India assured the court that the entire process would be as per the law and with transparency.

What was the whole matter?

Mehul Choksi is the main accused in the alleged Rs 13,000 crore Punjab National Bank fraud. He fled to Antigua and Barbuda in January 2018. He was then seen in Belgium, where he had reportedly gone for treatment.

India had sent an official extradition request to the Belgian government on August 27, 2024, based on the arrest warrant issued by a special court in Mumbai against Choksi. After a long legal process, the decision of the Supreme Court of Belgium has now strengthened the hopes of India’s investigating agencies.

India will come after formal signing

Experts believe that with this decision of the court, the legal obstacles to bringing Choksi to India have almost ended. Now after the formal signing by the Belgian government and completion of the process, it can be sent to India.

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The PNB scam is one of the biggest banking scams in the country, in which Mehul Choksi and his nephew Nirav Modi are the main accused. Choksi’s extradition will strengthen India’s investigation and prosecution process.