Fugitive Justice

After years on the run, Mehul Choksi, the diamond dealer-turned-fugitive at the heart of one of India’s most egregious banking scandals, has been arrested in Belgium. The 65-year-old is a key accused in the Rs. 13,500 crore Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud case that rocked India’s financial system in 2018. His arrest is a rare diplomatic success for Indian authorities in a saga marked by financial chicanery, sluggish extradition battles and gaping regulatory failures.

Choksi had been conveniently living in Antigua and Barbuda as a citizen since 2018 after fleeing India. His arrival in Belgium last year, reportedly for cancer treatment, had attracted little public attention until now. That his wife holds Belgian citizenship may have eased his travel, but not his fate. India has wasted no time with both the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) pressing for his extradition.

The task is not impossible. India has a functioning extradition treaty with Belgium, dating back to 1901. The treaty operates on the principle of ‘dual criminality,’ which is that a person can be extradited if the alleged offence is punishable in both countries. Financial fraud, of course, qualifies. But success is far from guaranteed.

India’s recent track record in pursuing high-profile economic offenders has been dismal. Nirav Modi, Choksi’s nephew and a co-accused in the PNB scam, has fought a protracted legal battle against extradition from the United Kingdom, where he has remained since 2018. Vijay Mallya, the former Kingfisher Airlines boss accused of defaulting on loans and money laundering, continues to stall his return despite an extradition order. In both cases, India has been ensnared by the procedural thickets of British courts, and by arguments about prison conditions, political persecution and judicial independence.

Belgium’s treaty has similar escape valves. It bars extradition in cases deemed political or if the accused can argue persecution. Choksi has previously claimed that he is the target of a politically motivated witch-hunt, a narrative he used when he mysteriously vanished from Antigua in 2021 and ended up in Dominica, alleging he had been abducted.

This time, Indian authorities must build an airtight case and ensure his prosecution stands up to judicial scrutiny abroad. But even if Choksi returns to face trial, justice must go further. The alleged fraud was colossal: Choksi is accused of siphoning over Rs. 6,000 crore and Nirav Modi another Rs. 7,000 crore. Today, the realisable value of Choksi’s assets stands closer to Rs. 2,500 crore.

Beyond extradition, what is needed is restitution. The defrauded sums must be returned to their rightful owners, public sector banks and, by extension, Indian taxpayers. That means faster trials, sharper asset recovery mechanisms and more transparency about where the money goes. It also means plugging the regulatory holes that allowed such frauds to flourish in the first place. Justice will only be served when not just the fugitives, but the system that enabled them, is held to account.