Belgian minister to decide on India's Mehul Choksi extradition request

Arrested by Antwerp police last Saturday, fugitive diamantaire Mehul Choksi will first be produced before the Belgian minister of justice, Annelies Verlinden, who will evaluate India’s extradition request and the charges under which Choksi has been taken into custody, people familiar with the procedure in the European country said.

“If Verlinden is convinced that India’s request has substance, meets the ‘dual criminality’ criteria of embezzlement, transnational crime and bribery being crimes in both countries, then she will approve his arrest as legal after which the matter will be marked to a court for formal extradition proceedings,” said an officer at an Indian federal investigation agency, who asked not to be named.

“However, if she isn’t impressed with the case and believes that the extradition request is flawed, then the matter will be over for India then and there and Choksi will be released,” this person added.

But the chances “of this happening is 0.1% only”, the officer said.

A second officer pointed out an “order of arrest” for Choksi was issued on November 25, 2024, by Belgian prosecutors after it was approved by the ministry of justice based on an extradition request sent by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on August 27, 2024, which means “Brussels prime facie accepted the charges”.

“It’s just a formality. The accused will be produced before the minister of justice. It is generally approved by the minister since originally the arrest is approved by their office,” added the second officer.

Meanwhile, Choksi’s legal team is looking to get him produced before the Antwerp Court of First Instance only, instead of Verlinden. Advocate Vijay Aggarwal said: “We might file a plea that he should be produced before the court only.”

Choksi is supposed to be produced before Verlinden within five working days from the day of arrest (in his case, April 11). A team of CBI officers is expected to travel for the hearing and push for keeping Choksi in custody and initiate formal extradition proceedings.

An Antwerp police spokesperson, while confirming Choksi’s arrest, told HT earlier this week that the arrest was smooth.

The spokesperson added that the arrest came after an order was issued by “the international service (IRC) – Antwerp Public Prosecutor’s Office, following the service of an extradition procedure and the decision declaring a foreign arrest warrant enforceable”.

As exclusively reported by HT, CBI tracked Choksi to Belgium in July last year, after which an extradition request was sent on August 27, 2024. The agency even sent its team twice to convince the authorities to arrest him.

The extradition has been sought under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections – 120 B (criminal conspiracy), 201 (destruction of evidence), 409 (criminal breach of trust), 420 (cheating), 477A (falsification of accounts), and sections 7 and 13 (bribery) of the prevention of corruption act.

Besides, CBI has also invoked the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (UNTOC) and United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) in its extradition request.

The Belgian government examined India’s request at various levels and approved initiating action in the matter after it was convinced about the “dual criminality” clause in the 1901 extradition treaty between two countries.

An “order of arrest” for Choksi was issued by the Belgian prosecutors on November 25, 2024.

Choksi has evaded CBI and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) –– which is conducting a parallel money laundering probe –– since 2018. After fleeing from India in January 2018, he acquired the citizenship of Antigua and Barbuda and was living there until July last year with his wife Priti Choksi, who has also been named as accused by the ED.

The diamond businessman is accused of cheating Punjab National Bank and other banks of thousands of crores of rupees –– nearly $2 billion. CBI has filed six cases against him in 2018 and 2022.