Mehul Choksi, the owner of Gitanjali Group, has been accused of a ₹12,636 crore fraud at Punjab National Bank. He committed this fraud along with his nephew Nirav Modi, Nirav’s wife Ami Modi, and his brother Neeshal Modi. Choksi is 65 years old and ran away from India in 2018, just before the scam became public. He went to Antigua, where he had already taken citizenship through an investment program.
In 2021, Mehul Choksi was caught in the Dominican Republic for entering the country illegally. The CBI quickly sent a team there to bring him back. But his lawyers told the court in the Dominican Republic that he was sick and needed to return to Antigua for treatment. They also promised that he would come back later for the trial. After spending 51 days in jail, Mehul Choksi got help from the British Queen’s Privy Council, and the extradition was stopped. He was allowed to return to Antigua. Later, the case of illegal entry in the Dominican Republic was also dropped.
Since then, Indian agencies like the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate have been tracking him. Last year, they found out that he was in Belgium. They immediately informed the Belgian authorities and gave them all the related documents. On Saturday, Belgian police arrested Choksi when they found out he was trying to escape to Switzerland. His wife Preeti is a Belgian citizen. Reports say Choksi used fake documents to get a residency card in Belgium and hid the fact that he was a citizen of both India and Antigua.
In February, Mehul Choksi’s lawyer told a court in Mumbai that he couldn’t return to India because he was in Belgium for blood cancer treatment. Choksi also said he was ready to help Indian agencies and attend court through video conferencing. But this offer was rejected. The Indian authorities continued working on bringing him back. Finally, their efforts led to his arrest. Now, they are trying to extradite him to India for trial. Meanwhile, Mehul Choksi’s lawyer has said they will ask for relief on health grounds.
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