Mehul Choksi Arrested, Faces Appeal Over $1.8 Billion Fraud

Mehul Choksi, a fugitive jeweller implicated in a $1.8 billion fraud involving Punjab National Bank, has been arrested in Belgium, seven years after the scandal first emerged. The Indian government had submitted an extradition request prior to his arrest, which Choksi plans to contest on the grounds of his ongoing cancer treatment. Choksi, along with his uncle Nirav Modi, who is also sought for his role in the fraud, has consistently denied any wrongdoing. In a 2018 letter, Choksi claimed that the investigative agencies were biased and interfering with justice. His lawyer announced an appeal for his release, citing his health concerns. Both Choksi and Modi have been significant figures in the banking fraud case, with Modi currently in custody in the UK after his arrest in 2019.