Mehul Choksi, a fugitive jeweler, was caught in Belgium and would fight his release, his attorney said Reuters on Monday, seven years after information about his role in one of the worst bank scams in India came to light. A source with the Enforcement Directorate told Reuters that before Choksi was arrested, the Indian government had requested his extradition.
In 2018, Punjab National Bank (PNB), the second-biggest state-run institution in India in terms of assets, declared that it had uncovered suspected fraud at one Mumbai branch totaling $1.8 billion.
The wealthy jeweler Nirav Modi and his uncle Choksi, who is the managing director of Gitanjali Gems, were among the entities against whom the bank had filed a criminal complaint with India’s federal investigative agency, alleging that they had cheated PNB.
Choksi, Nirav Modi, and others were charged with fraud by Indian federal authorities in relation to their alleged involvement in fraudulent transactions that caused PNB to suffer significant losses. Both diamond magnates have denied any misconduct. In a 2018 letter, Choksi said that the investigating agencies were interfering with the course of justice and acting with predetermined minds.
Reuters was informed on Monday by Choksi’s attorney, Vijay Aggarwal, that “an appeal will be filed for his release, on grounds that he is undergoing cancer treatment and is not a flight risk.” According to him, Choksi had not broken any laws in Belgium.
Before information about his purported involvement in the case was made public, Nirav Modi left India in 2018. Despite losing one extradition appeal, he was captured in Britain in 2019 and is still being held there.
Also Read:
Abraam Samy’s Journey From A Seasoned Marketing Expert To Entrepreneur
Offering Excellence In Facilities Management Across The UAE With UCWF: Mani Moorthy
About Author
