India’s Enforcement Directorate (ED) told a special court that fugitive businessman Mehul Choksi has no plans to return, as he continues to fight extradition proceedings in Belgium.
The agency’s plea to declare Choksi a fugitive economic offender (FEO), filed in July 2018, remains pending. Such a declaration would give Indian authorities greater powers to seize assets linked to the US$2 billion Punjab National Bank (PNB) scam, one of the country’s largest financial frauds.
Choksi’s lawyers have urged dismissal of the plea, arguing that their client’s custody in Belgium renders the application redundant. The former head of the Gitanjali Group jewellery empire is wanted in India along with his nephew, Nirav Modi, for orchestrating the PNB scam in 2018.
Choksi left India in January 2018, just weeks before the fraud was uncovered. He had secured Antiguan and Barbudan citizenship the previous year under the government’s Citizenship by Investment Program (CIP). At the time, Antigua confirmed that his application had passed checks, including an Interpol clearance.
Antigua and Barbuda later faced sustained diplomatic pressure after India requested Choksi’s extradition. Prime Minister Gaston Browne insisted the island would not serve as a refuge and pledged that Choksi would be repatriated if convicted. Still, legal wrangling in Antigua, coupled with Choksi’s health claims and rights challenges, stalled proceedings.
The case took a dramatic turn in 2021 when Choksi alleged he was abducted from Antigua and taken to Dominica. Antigua opposed his forced removal, stressing the need for due process. While Choksi still retains Antiguan citizenship, officials have said steps are being taken to revoke it.
Now detained in Belgium, he continues to contest extradition while India pursues its case to have him declared an FEO. The outcome could shape New Delhi’s efforts to recover assets and send a broader signal in its crackdown on financial fugitives.
