Antiguan and Barbudan citizen Mehul Choksi has been denied a bid for house arrest in Belgium as he faces a looming extradition hearing linked to one of India’s biggest banking frauds.
The 66-year-old diamond trader, who once headed the Gitanjali jewellery empire, had asked to be confined to a Belgian residence with electronic monitoring. But an appeal court dismissed the request last week, leaving him in custody as preparations intensify for his September hearing.
Choksi left Antigua and Barbuda more than a year ago for medical treatment in Belgium, even as Indian authorities sought his return in connection with the Punjab National Bank (PNB) scandal. He was later arrested there.
India’s Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has already dispatched a team to Brussels, submitting extensive evidence to Belgian prosecutors and exploring the use of a European law firm to strengthen its case.
Choksi and his nephew, Nirav Modi, are accused of siphoning billions of dollars from PNB through fraudulent Letters of Undertaking at the bank’s Mumbai branch. Modi has been jailed in London since 2019 and is still contesting his own extradition.
Indian officials have charged Choksi under corruption and conspiracy laws, while also invoking international treaties on corruption and organised crime. Legal analysts note that Belgium recognises these offences, a factor likely to weigh against him.
For now, the businessman — who obtained Antiguan and Barbudan citizenship through investment — remains in prison in Belgium, with his plea for more lenient conditions rejected and a decisive courtroom battle approaching.
