Fugitive entrepreneur Mehul Choksi, wanted in India for his suspected role in a gargantuan Rs 13,500-crore bank loan scam, was hitherto thought to be living in Antigua and Barbuda.
But now it appears that he had also been to Antwerp, Belgium, where he is currently living with his wife, Preeti Choksi, after securing an "F Residency Card."
Indian officials have reportedly asked Belgium to initiate the extradition process of bringing Choksi to India, as per the Associated Times, a news agency from the Caribbean. However, Indian authorities have not made any official announcements regarding the genuineness of these reports.
Preeti Choksi, wife of Mehul Choksi, is a Belgian citizen. Choksi is said to have used false and misleading documents to obtain Belgian residency, seeking to evade extradition to India, the report said. Choksi is said to have hidden his Indian and Antiguan citizenship while applying for residency and is suspected of having made false declarations and forged documents to the Belgian authorities, sources said.
The report also indicates that Choksi may be relocating to Switzerland for medical treatment at a world-class cancer hospital.
Choksi and his nephew Nirav Modi are charged with perpetrating a Rs 13,500 crore fraud on the state-owned Punjab National Bank (PNB) through the use of fake letters of undertaking. Nirav Modi is in a London prison, fighting extradition to India, while Choksi has been in hiding.
Choksi disappeared from Antigua in May 2021, but was subsequently found and brought back to the nation. In December 2024, a special court in Mumbai gave permission for the monetization of assets worth Rs 2,565.9 crore that have been confiscated by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) since 2018. The assets are under an ongoing money laundering probe associated with the PNB fraud case.
The order of the court enabled transfer of properties such as Mumbai flats and SEEPZ, Andheri, factories, which are being taken over by Choksi's Gitanjali Gems Ltd's liquidator. The victim banks such as Punjab National Bank and ICICI Bank and ED stood in favour of the asset monetization application.
Choksi is charged with several offences, such as criminal conspiracy, criminal breach of trust, cheating, dishonesty in relation to delivery of property, corruption, and money laundering.
In December 2024, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman told Parliament that properties valued at more than Rs 22,000 crore had been recovered or auctioned to settle debts against wanted persons like Choksi.
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