Antwerp Court Approves Mehul Choksi’s Extradition, Rules Out Torture or Unfair Trial in India

Antwerp Court Greenlights Choksi’s Extradition

This is a big win to the Indian investigative agencies as the Court of Appeal in Antwerp, Belgium, has granted the extradition of a fugitive diamond trader, Mehul Choksi, to India. The businessman is of 66 years old, and he is among the key suspects in the huge Punjab national bank (PNB) fraud. This decision is the major move on a long struggle by India to reintroduce him to trial.

He has since been detained in a prison in Belgium, and has been refused several appeals to post bail, on the basis that he is a great flight risk. The ruling of the court in Belgium confirms the request of India as legitimate and negates so many concerns aired by the defense team of Choksi.

The decision will see Choksi returned to India, although he can appeal the decision to the Supreme Court in Belgium. His extradition will be made or the appeal dismissed in case the appeal is not filed. It is an important breakthrough in one of the biggest financial fraud cases in the history of India.

The court will be also approved based on the concept of a dual criminality. The judges affirmed that the felony financial crimes Choksi is being charged with in India can be also criminalized by the Belgian law. These are criminal organization, swindle, embezzlement and forgery. This coincidence between the two legal systems was a decisive condition in accepting the request of extradition.

Court Rejects Claims of Unfair Trial and Torture

One of the main aspects of Mehul Choksi defense was that he could not be given fair trial in India. His attorneys alleged that the case was political in nature and he was to receive inhuman treatment. The defense team presented a mountain of documents, such as reports by the NGOs and press articles, to state that his human rights would be violated by the conditions of Indian prisons.

These claims have been overruled by the Antwerp Court of Appeal. The four member indictment chamber determined that Choksi did not present any allegations that were concretely plausible of the presence of a real likelihood of torture or a flagrant deprivation of justice. According to the court, the documents provided did not suffice to demonstrate that he himself had been at a real and serious risk of being mistreated.

Another extraordinary assertion made by the legal team of Choksi was the fact that he was kidnapped earlier on in Antigua by the agencies of India and tortured in Dominica. The Belgian court did not find concrete evidence that could be used to prove this allegation. It held that the records filed did not point out that he had been kidnapped at the bequest of Indian authorities.

Besides, the court turned down the argument that Choksi had been the victim of a political trial. It did not have reasons to suspect that the extradition request was lodged to punish him on grounds of his race, religion or political affiliation. The court basically held that his defense was founded on general allegations and did not show any particular and personal risk.

India’s Assurances on Prison Conditions

One of the determinants in the ruling by the court was the number of detailed guarantees that were made by the Indian government. India officially assured the security of Choksi, of his right of trial and of receiving medical treatment. India refuted the reports on bad prison conditions by giving certain information where Choksi would be sent back.

The government provided a detailed note, with photos, of Barrack No. 12 in the Arthur Road Jail of Mumbai. This is the same facility that is ready against other high profile economic offenders. The guarantees pointed out how his cell would be sufficiently large with separate sanitaries, ventilation, and light, which met the European standards in handling prisoners.

The Indian authorities, also ensured that the health of Choksi would not be jeopardized. The judiciary will impose restrictions on him and will offer all the medical services necessary to him, rather than the investigatory agencies. These commitments made by Indian government played a big role in making the Belgian court believe that rights of Choksi would be respected.

These particular guarantees were credible and binding to the court. It also observed that Choksi counterargument had not presented any substantive evidence to indicate that he would not receive medical treatment. This will confirm the Indian approach of making elaborate and high-level promises in complicated extradition cases.

The PNB Fraud Case

Mehul Choksi is sought by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Enforcement Directorate (ED) over the 13,000 crore Punjab national bank heist. He and his nephew, wanted jeweler Nirav Modi, are deemed to be the brains behind the fraud, which was revealed in 2018.

It was alleged that the fraud was committed by getting fraudulent Letters of Undertaking (LoUs) in one branch of PNB in Mumbai. These LoUs were utilized to borrow money against the overseas subsidiaries of other Indian banks. Choksi himself is accused of draining off 6400 crore in this way.

In January 2018, Choksi fled India, a few weeks before the bank discovered the scam. He subsequently appeared in the Caribbean country of Antigua and Barbuda, where he had acquired citizenship in 2017. The Indian officials have been on a multi front legal battle to extradite him to Antigua, which has taken a long time.

His arrest in Belgium gave new source of law to Indian agencies. This alternative became an option through the extradition treaty between India and Belgium that became effective in 2020. This court decision approval of the Antwerp court is the first significant victory in the legal case against Choksi in Europe.