'I don't think it is going to be easy for India to get him back.'
After fugitive businessman Mehul Choksi's arrest in Belgium, his lawyer Vijay Aggarwal said on Monday that they will be filing an appeal to release Choksi from custody, citing his ill health and ongoing cancer treatment.
Choksi was arrested in Belgium on Saturday, April 12, 2025, after local authorities confirmed his presence in the country.
Sources said that preparations were being made for his extradition to India.
However, Choksi has started preparing for a legal battle, with lawyers looking to secure bail.
"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," Vijay Aggarwal told ANI in Delhi.
"The major ground for the plea is his ill health and that he is undergoing cancer treatment, and, of course, he is not a flight risk at all," Choksi's lawyer added.
The legal team states that Choksi has strong reasons to challenge the extradition request, citing his health condition, among other arguments.
"There is no push. It is a process. Non-bailable warrants have been issued against him since 2018. It is a prerequisite for extradition that there has to be an open-ended, non-bailable warrant," Aggarwal added.
"Earlier, they tried to pick him up from Dominica, where they failed. So then, by the Dominican court order, my client was getting his treatment in Antigua."
"For his medical treatment, he had to go to Belgium, and he has been there getting his treatment for the cancer."
"Arrest is a process," Aggarwasl stated. "Whenever for any country, there is an extradition request made by another country wherein they have a treaty.
"First of all, the person has to be arrested, then the person has to show that he's got community ties, and then we have to show that he is not a flight risk and that there is a medical condition. So that's the only ground," Aggarwal stated.
The 65-year-old fugitive diamond merchant, who left India on January 2, 2018, is wanted by the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate, for allegedly defrauding Pujab National Bank of Rs 13,850 crore (Rs 138.50 billion).
His nephew Nirav Modi was also allegedly involved with him in the fraud.
After the arrest, Punjab National Bank Scam whistle-blower Hariprasad SV said that it would be very difficult for India to get Choksi back home as he will employ the best lawyers in Europe to avoid the process.
Speaking to ANI, Hariprasad recalled the time when Choksi succeeded in evading the process when he was caught in Dominica.
"Extradition is not an easy task. Choksi's wallet is full, and he will employ the best lawyers in Europe to avoid the process like what Vijay Mallya has been doing.
"I don't think it is going to be easy for India to get him back," he said.
He also mentioned that Choksi cheated at least 100 franchises, and most of them filed cases in different cities in India.
"The legal system in India is undoubtedly very great," Hariprasad said, "but the extradition process depends on the country we are dealing with.
"This case is not going to be easy, as he has so much money."
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