Mehul Choksi’s Bail Plea Rejected By Belgian Court Of Appeals

The bail plea of fugitive Mehul Choksi has been turned down by a Belgian court of appeals, just ahead of an extradition hearing before the court in the country, PTI reported citing officials.Chokis is wanted in India in connection with over Rs 6300-crore fraud in the Punjab National Bank (PNB). 

The court rejected the appeal on CBI’s request which stated that Choksi has escaped from many jurisdictions earlier as well to evade legal proceedings and may flee to another country if let out on bail. 

His previous bail plea was also rejected in Belgium post which they said Choksi filed another bail application on August 22 and offered to be under house arrest, under surveillance at home, but the court of appeal rejected it earlier this week. 

The extradition of the diamond trader will be taken up in court in mid-September with CBI assisting the Belgian authorities in putting forth a case to send him back to India to face trial in cases against him. The bureau has sent a team to Brussels to provide details of the case, evidence and documents to the Belgian prosecution, who will be presenting the case. The CBI will also hire a European law firm to assist in the case, they said.

Choksi and his nephew Nirav Modi are wanted in the Rs 13000 crore fraud in Punjab National Bank that they allegedly orchestrated through fraudulent Letters of Undertaking in connivance with some bank officials at the Brady House branch in Mumbai. Modi is currently lodged in a London jail since he was held by the authorities there in 2019 on the basis of a legal request made by the ED and the CBI in this case. He is contesting extradition to India. 

With PTI inputs