October 18, 2025

New Delhi: Hold your breath, because the chase just got hotter! A court in Belgium on Friday gave the green signal to extradite Mehul Choksi, the notorious diamond merchant and one of the main accused in the staggering $2 billion Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud case, back to India. However, the game isn’t over yet – Choksi can still challenge this order in court, sources say. Choksi, who hopped from India to Antigua after the massive scam surfaced, was nabbed by Belgian police in April while he was in Europe for medical treatment. Since then, he has been locked up in a jail in Antwerp. The Indian government quickly moved into action by filing a formal extradition request in a court in Antwerp. This high-drama arrest was based on two warrants from a Mumbai court dating back to May 2018 and June 2021. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) revealed that it has seized assets worth a whopping ₹2,565.9 crore linked to Choksi. The Mumbai court even gave the nod on September 10 to turn these assets into cash to support the investigation. But the plot thickens! Choksi’s lawyer had told a Mumbai court in February that the diamond tycoon was battling blood cancer and was about to start radiation therapy. This health scare was the reason he said he couldn’t return to India for trial. Choksi himself filed a plea in Belgium mentioning he suffers from chronic lymphocytic leukaemia and lymphoma since 2023, fighting hard on the health front. In response, the Indian government assured the Belgium court that if Choksi is brought back, he will be treated humanely and all European human rights standards will be followed strictly. Meanwhile, the sting of the scandal drags on with Choksi’s nephew, Nirav Modi, also tangled in this web. Modi, currently in the UK, is facing his own extradition battle as Enforcement Directorate probes money laundering and conspiracy in the PNB fraud case. Will Mehul Choksi’s journey from Antwerp jail to Indian courts soon become a reality? With legal twists, health battles, and government action all playing their parts, this saga is far from over and keeps the nation glued!

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Tags: Mehul choksi, Extradition, Pnb fraud, Belgium court, Enforcement directorate, Nirav modi,