Belgium's Court approves Mehul Choksi's return to India

The long arm of justice has finally caught up with Mehul Choksi, whose massive more than 13000 crores Punjab National Bank (PNB) scam shook India’s financial core, as Belgium's Brussels court approves his extradition to face trial in Mumbai after a seven-year legal battle. Choksi fled India in January 2018 just as the scandal blew off his alleged scheme of siphoning funds through fraudulent bank guarantees, living a low-profile life in Belgium's Antwerp city while Indian investigative agencies like the CBI and Enforcement Directorate (ED) pieced together a watertight case. This ruling, a major win for India’s relentless pursuit of economic offenders, shuts down Choksi’s desperate asylum pleas and health-based appeals, setting the stage for his return to answer charges of money laundering and fraud that could lock him away for life.

The PNB scandal, one of India’s largest banking frauds, unraveled when bank officials discovered how Choksi’s Gitanjali Group, alongside Nirav Modi’s firms manipulated letters of undertaking to secure unauthorized loans, leaving taxpayers reeling from more than Rs 13,000 crore scam. Since his 2018 arrest in Belgium, Choksi’s legal team has thrown claims of political persecution, a dismissed “abduction” in Dominica, and health excuses citing heart ailments—to delay the inevitable. But the Belgian court, after sifting through exhaustive evidence from India, upheld the charges’ severity and compatibility with local laws, dismissing concerns over prison conditions or human rights violations. The decision, lauded by India’s Ministry of External Affairs, strengthens bilateral ties and signals to other fugitives that safe havens are shrinking in a world of tightening extradition norms.

With just a 15-day window to appeal, Choksi’s options are dwindling fast where trials await under stringent anti-money laundering laws. Beyond the courtroom, this case is a wake-up call for India to fortify its financial systems and a morale boost for PNB depositors still stinging from the scam’s ripple effects. As the ED continues to claw back assets, from Choksi’s seized properties to offshore accounts, the ruling underscores a broader mission: no fugitive, no matter how wealthy or well-hidden, can outrun accountability forever.