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In major setback for Choksi, Belgian court rejects bail petition
Choksi was arrested by Antwerp police on April 11, based on an extradition request sent by CBI and has been lodged in the prison there for nearly three months now.
In a setback for fugitive diamantaire Mehul Choksi, currently lodged in a prison in Antwerp, the Court of Cassation in Belgium -- equivalent to the Supreme Court of India -- has rejected his bail plea, which means he might have to stay in prison for a very long time, people familiar with the development said on Wednesday.
The Court of Cassation’s decision was delivered last week according to an officer who didn’t want to be named, strengthens the Central Bureau of Investigation’s case against Choksi and validates the evidence provided there in the courts. “The Court of Cassation didn’t find Choksi’s arguments for his release on bail convincing. He may not get relief very soon, even during extradition proceedings, which may not begin before September end,” added the officer.
Choksi, 65, was arrested by Antwerp police on April 11, based on an extradition request sent by CBI and has been lodged in the prison there for nearly three months now. The fugitive businessman’s legal team refused to comment on the matter.
According to the second officer, a CBI team recently travelled to Antwerp to provide additional information and evidence against Choksi and his companies.
Subsequently, the Indian team hired a European law firm to assist Belgian prosecutors during extradition proceedings which have been initiated 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; which are crimes in Belgium as well under the dual criminality clause of extradition treaty.
The United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (UNTOC) and United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) have also been invoked in the extradition request.
The people cited in the first instance said Choksi recently tried to get relief citing ill-health and by offering to wear a GPS-enabled anklet at home , but this plea too was rejected by the Belgian courts.
India has claimed before courts in Belgium that Choksi is a habitual offender and jumps extradition proceedings wherever he is found, as seen in the US and Antigua and Barbuda, and that if he is released on bail, he could easily cross over to another country in Europe, according to the second officer.
Choksi is accused of defrauding Indian banks of ₹13,000 crore before fleeing from India in January 2018.
As reported by HT in May, Indian investigators have submitted documentary evidence to the prosecutors in Belgium against Choksi in six bank frauds committed by him between 2018 and 2022 involving amounts totalling nearly ₹13,000 crore and court is already convinced that there is prima facie fear of him fleeing from Belgium.
He was tracked by CBI to Belgium in July last year after which it approached the Belgian government with a formal extradition request.
