PNB scam whistleblower Hari Prasad SV said that extraditing Mehul Choksi to India – who, along with his nephew Nirav Modi, defrauded the bank of Rs 13,000 crore – would be difficult as his “wallet is full” and he has a “big booty of money”. He added that he would hire the best lawyers in Europe to avoid the process, much like Vijay Mallya. Mallya is on the run from the Indian authorities after his company, Kingfisher Airlines, defaulted on loans worth over Rs 9,000 crore.
“Extradition is not going to be an easy task. His wallet is full, and he will employ the best advocates in Europe, as Vijay Mallya has been doing. It is not easy for India to get him back,” he told news agency ANI.
He added, “…The process we have to follow when we are dealing with a foreign country depends on the country that we are dealing with. The laws and the legal systems are going to take place. It takes a lot of time, but I hope they can get him back. That’s the only hope because he’s not going to take it easy. He has a fleet of lawyers from the best of the world. First of all, he has a lot of money. It’s only in 2016 that he stashed away at least two billion dollars. I don’t know how much he must have multiplied that…,”
Hariprasad also pointed out how Choksi managed to escape legal proceedings when he was caught earlier: “Even though he was caught in Antigua, he managed to get out of it as he had a fleet of lawyers. It’s not going to be so easy for the government of India, but I hope the government succeeds this time.”
“Mehul Choksi getting arrested in Belgium is great news not only for India but also for all those who got cheated by him. The government must bring him back to India as soon as possible, and justice must be delivered,” he further said, adding that “the most important thing is to get back all those billions of dollars he looted from India and stashed anywhere in the world”.
On July 26, 2016, Bengaluru-based entrepreneur Hari Prasad had written to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) about a potential large-scale scam after flagging the discrepancies in the balance sheets. He said that Choksi scammed hundreds of franchises across India, and multiple cases were filed against him in different cities. “Even I got his arrest warrant from Bengaluru police, but nothing really happened as he was smart enough to get away from the clutches of the law,” he recalled.
Indian authorities travel to Belgium
Following Choksi’s arrest on April 12 by Belgian officials, a team of Indian authorities is scheduled to visit the European country to ensure that extradition proceedings against Choksi could start as early as possible. “Mehul Choksi was arrested on Saturday, April 12, 2025. He is being detained in anticipation of further judicial proceedings. Access to his legal counsel has been assured. The Belgian Federal Public Service of Justice can confirm that the Indian authorities have introduced an extradition request for Choksi,” the Belgian Federal Public Service of Justice said.
Choksi’s arrest came after he planned to flee to Switzerland for medical treatment and settle there. His bail application would take at least a week.
“My client, Mehul Choksi, has been arrested in Belgium and, at the moment, he is in custody. We will be starting the process of filing an appeal against this, and then, as a process of appeal, we will be requesting that he be pulled out of prison. The major grounds for the plea are his ill health and that he is undergoing cancer treatment,” India Today quoted his lawyer Vijay Aggarwal as saying.
Mehul Choksi arrested in Belgium: Timeline of events
2017: Mehul Choksi acquired Antigua nationality through the citizenship-by-investment program.
2018: Mehul Choksi fled to the United States weeks before the scam came to light and later settled in Antigua.
2019: Choksi’s nephew, Nirav Modi, co-accused in one of the biggest banking scams, was arrested in London. He has exhausted all legal options against extradition to India and remains in a UK jail.
2023: Interpol revoked the Red Notice that had been issued against Mehul Choksi even as India requested his extradition.
2024: Choksi and his wife reportedly moved from Antigua to Belgium, with reports that they were considering settling in Geneva, Switzerland.
2025: Choksi’s lawyer informed a special court in Mumbai that he is currently in Antwerp, Belgium, undergoing treatment for blood cancer.
Two weeks before his arrest, Choksi obtained Belgium’s F-Residency card.
Who is Mehul Choksi?
Mehul Choksi is a co-accused in the PNB scam and is wanted by Indian authorities. He is the owner of the defunct Gitanjali Group that once operated thousands of stores across India.
Choksi was born to Chinubhai Choksi in May 1959 in Bombay (now Mumbai). He completed his formal education at GD Modi College in Gujarat and has a son and two daughters. Choksi ventured into the gems and jewellery industry in 1975 and took over Gitanjali Gems from his father in 1985. Under his leadership, the company expanded beyond its initial focus on rough and polished diamonds.