"We will contest the extradition"
Indian businessman Mehul Choksi has been arrested in Belgium after India renewed its efforts to extradite him.
Choksi, who left India in 2018, was arrested on April 11, according to his lawyer Vijay Aggarwal.
The diamond merchant is wanted in India over allegations of defrauding Punjab National Bank (PNB) of nearly £1.3 billion. The case is one of the largest financial frauds in Indian history.
Mehul Choksi has not made a public statement since his arrest.
However, his legal team says they will fight both the detention and the extradition request.
Mr Aggarwal said: “These are the obvious grounds [on which we will argue the case], that he is not a flight risk and secondly, that he is extremely sick.
“He is undergoing cancer treatment.
“We will contest the extradition on grounds that there isn’t enough evidence against him and the extradition request is politically motivated and the trial in India may not be fair.”
It was reported that Choksi was arrested based on two non-bailable warrants issued by Indian courts in 2018 and 2021. It remains unclear why Belgian authorities acted now.
Indian investigators accuse Mr Choksi and his nephew, Nirav Modi, of colluding with bank employees to secure fraudulent credit guarantees from PNB.
These were allegedly used to pay overseas suppliers, with the money later laundered.
Both men deny the charges.
Nirav Modi fled to the UK and was found to be living in London. He was arrested in 2019 and is currently in a UK prison, awaiting a decision on his extradition to India.
His jewellery was once worn by Hollywood stars Naomi Watts and Kate Winslet. Bollywood star Priyanka Chopra had been a brand ambassador for his company.
Choksi was the owner of Gitanjali Gems, which operated nearly 4,000 stores across India.
After leaving India, Mehul Choksi travelled to the United States and later obtained citizenship in Antigua. In 2021, he was briefly detained in Dominica before being returned to Antigua.
Hariprasad SV, a Bengaluru-based entrepreneur who flagged the alleged fraud in 2016, welcomed the arrest.
He said: “Apart from bringing him back, the most important thing is to get back all those billions of dollars he looted from India.”
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