If you follow the news, you’ve definitely heard this name Mehul Choksi. But if you’re wondering who he really is and how he ended up on India’s most-wanted list, here’s a simple breakdown. No jargon, no drama just what actually happened.
So, Choksi was once a big deal in India’s jewellery scene. He ran Gitanjali Group, which had thousands of stores across the country. In fact, he had taken over the business from his dad back in 1985. Everything looked good on paper—successful brand, fancy image, big money. But behind all that shine, something shady was cooking.
What Actually Went Down?
Between 2011 and 2017, Mehul Choksi, along with his nephew Nirav Modi, pulled off something massive. They allegedly teamed up with some bank staff at Punjab National Bank (PNB) and managed to get fake Letters of Undertaking (LoUs). These are basically papers that help someone borrow money from abroad.
But here’s the crazy partthese weren’t small loans. It was around ₹13,000 crore. That’s over 2 billion US dollars. And nobody caught it for years. Every time a new loan was needed, they just kept creating more of those fake documents.
When the bank finally noticed, it was too late. Choksi had already left India—he flew out in January 2018, just before the scam became public.
And Then… He Disappeared
Now here’s where things get more complicated. Just a few months before the scam broke, Choksi managed to get citizenship in Antigua and Barbuda. He got it by investing money, through a scheme that allows rich people to settle there.
He was in Antigua, living peacefully for a while. But in 2021, something strange happened. He suddenly vanished from Antigua and was later found in Dominica. Local police arrested him for entering their country illegally. Choksi, on the other hand, claimed he was kidnapped—literally said he was beaten up, dragged onto a boat, and taken there by Indian agents.
Whether that’s true or not, nobody knows for sure. But eventually, Dominica allowed him to return to Antigua for medical treatment.
Fast Forward to 2025 – Arrested in Belgium
After years of back and forth, on April 12, 2025, Belgian authorities finally caught him in Antwerp. He was at a hospital, getting treatment for cancer. Indian agencies had been tracking him, and this time, they moved quickly. They had already filed requests with the Belgian government for his extradition.
Turns out, Choksi had managed to get a residency card in Belgium too. He never told them he already had two other nationalities Indian (which he later gave up) and Antiguan. That didn’t help his case.
Now he’s behind bars, and India wants him back.
What India Wants
Both the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) are involved. They’re trying to bring him back under the India-Belgium extradition treaty, signed in 2020. But it’s not that easy. The treaty has its own rules like, Belgium can reject the extradition if they feel it’s a political matter or if the accused’s health is bad.
Still, the agencies are hopeful this time. They’ve already seized properties worth ₹2,500 crore from him, and they’re trying to get him declared a “Fugitive Economic Offender”—a legal tag that lets them auction his assets even faster.
Why This Story Matters
See, this isn’t just about one guy running off with money. It’s about how a system failed. A major national bank couldn’t spot a scam for years. And even when they did, it took forever to catch the people involved.
It also tells us how tricky international law can be. Just because someone is caught abroad doesn’t mean they’ll be sent back easily. Countries have different rules, and fugitives like Choksi know how to play the game.
Will He Finally Be Extradited?
Hard to say. His lawyer is already arguing that he’s sick and not fit to travel. But if Indian agencies keep up the pressure, and Belgium agrees, we might finally see him back in an Indian court.
And if that happens, it will send a big message—no matter how far someone runs, if the system works, justice will catch up. Eventually.
Want more on this topic? Check this out: Mehul Choksi Arrested
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