Fugitive Mehul Choksi Arrested in Belgium Over ₹13,500 Crore PNB Scam:

Choksi Mehul, an absconding businessman connected to the largest Indian bank fraud, was captured by Belgian police on April 12. The Indian government had sent an extradition request prior to his arrest. Choksi along with Nirav Modi is alleged to have defrauded the Punjab National Bank (PNB) by over ₹135 Billion.

Choksi, is accused being part of a conspiracy at PNB’s Gitanjali Group to gain access to fraudulent LOUs and FLCs to bypass legal procedures. The documentation used to obtain loans was the cornerstone of the elaborate scam which was exposed in 2018.

Choksi bought Antigua and Barbuda citizenship in 2017. AntigAnd and dominated escape idea in 2018 for legal reasons, thinking it would be a boon due to the lack of extradition treaties active between India and the island country.

In 2021, he was detained in Dominica while trying to flee to Cuba. His lawyers claim that he was abducted from Antigua and taken to Dominica without consent.

Honeytrap Scenarios and Abduction Allegations

Choksi claimed that a woman named Barbara Jabarica, whom he had known for a year, had honeytrapped him. He maintained that she was part of a more elaborate scheme involving Indian agents. Choksi stated in his complaint that he was blindfolded and placed on a small watercraft and subsequently taken by Indian men and Caribbean men onto a larger boat.

He went on to argue that his abductors did surveillance on him for over a year and that they intended to interview him with an “Indian politician” and make provisions to solve his citizenship troubles in Dominica so they could deport him.

Barbara Jabarica’s Statement

Jabarica has denied every claim concerning her participation in the alleged abduction. She accompanied her statements with a claim that she met Choksi on a vacation where he introduced himself as “Raj” only to flirt with her later. She further claimed that she received fake diamond jewelry by Choksi and that her name was wrongfully brought into the case by his family and counsel.

Expelled Extradition Continued

Choksi was sent back to Antigua after his unsuccessful attempt at escaping. He has been living there since 2018. Indian authorities are yet to successfully claim his extradition despite numerous attempts. Chronic health issues are often cited to legally stall the process, but these claims are still contested with his multiple claimed surgeries and hospitalizations.

Following his recent arrest in Belgium, India may now have an opportunity to extradite Choksi and initiate legal actions against him.