Belgian court clears Mehul Choksi's extradition to India in PNB case

What the Record Shows

On 17 October 2025 a court in Antwerp cleared the way for Mehul Choksi's extradition to India, holding that his arrest on 11 April 2025 was valid and rejecting his claim that he faced a torture risk in India, per the ruling reported by the government broadcaster. The court found extradition permissible on a set of charges that, per the ruling, included criminal conspiracy, forgery and embezzlement. On 10 December 2025 Belgium's Court of Cassation rejected his appeal against the arrest, leaving the extradition clearance intact.

Choksi is sought in connection with the Punjab National Bank letters-of-undertaking case. The CBI and the Enforcement Directorate allege that credit instruments were obtained from PNB for his group entities without the required sanction or collateral, per their respective cases. He has not been tried, and has not been convicted, on those allegations in India; extradition is sought so that he can be brought to trial.

Choksi, associated with Gitanjali Gems Ltd and its group, has contested the proceedings at every stage. He has pleaded ill-health, and he has alleged that he was unlawfully taken from Antigua, where he holds citizenship, to Dominica in 2021 before being returned - a claim he has maintained in his resistance to extradition. He has been held in an Antwerp prison since April 2025.

A chargesheet contains allegations, not findings of guilt. Mehul Choksi is presumed innocent unless and until a court convicts him, and the Indian trial has not begun.

How It Worked

The instrument at the centre of the case is the letter of undertaking, a bank guarantee used to raise short-term overseas credit for imports. According to the CBI's case, letters of undertaking were issued from a PNB branch to entities linked to the Gitanjali group without sanctioned credit limits or collateral, and the ED alleges the resulting exposure was rolled over with fresh guarantees, per its case. Because the instruments were, on the agencies' account, not recorded in the bank's core banking system, the exposure did not show up in the bank's own controls.

None of these characterisations has been tested at a trial in India. They are the allegations on which extradition, not conviction, is sought.

The chronology is by now a long one. The matter surfaced in January 2018 when PNB reported the transactions; Choksi had already left India, having earlier taken citizenship of Antigua and Barbuda. He was detained in Dominica in 2021 and returned to Antigua, an episode he says involved an unlawful rendition. On the CBI's formal extradition request, Antwerp police arrested him on 11 April 2025. The Antwerp court cleared extradition on 17 October 2025, and the Court of Cassation rejected his appeal on 10 December 2025. Under Belgian procedure, the final decision on surrender now rests with the country's ministry responsible for justice and security.

Who Lost Money

The losses fall on the banking system. Punjab National Bank was the issuing bank, and other banks in the consortium carried the exposure created by the guarantees. Agencies have placed the figure attributed to the broader PNB matter at about Rs 13,000 crore, with some sources citing figures up to around Rs 13,850 crore, so the number is best read as an agency estimate that varies by source rather than an adjudicated loss.

Recovery has come mainly through attachment. Per the record, the ED has attached properties valued at about Rs 2,565.90 crore in the matter, and those assets are set to be auctioned. That represents a fraction of the exposure the agencies allege, and it has been achieved through the forfeiture machinery rather than any repayment by the accused.

As with the parallel PNB matter, it is worth being clear that this was a fraud alleged against a bank, not against individual account-holders. PNB's depositors did not lose their money; the loss sits on the bank's books and, ultimately, on its shareholders, the government being the majority owner.

Where It Stands Now

As of this review, the extradition clearance stands and Choksi remains in custody in Antwerp, with the final surrender decision resting with the Belgian government. He has not been extradited, and he has not been tried or convicted in India. Any trial on the PNB allegations would begin only after he is brought back.

His position under the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act differs from that of the other principal accused in the PNB matter. Per the record, the ED's application to have him declared a fugitive economic offender has been contested - his counsel has argued that, being detained in Belgium on India's extradition request, he is already in constructive custody - and he was not among the names of declared fugitive economic offenders placed before the Lok Sabha in December 2025. On the material reviewed, the FEO declaration against him had not been made, and the application remained live before the special court.

A chargesheet contains allegations, not findings of guilt; the accused is presumed innocent until proven guilty, and due process continues.

What It Means

The case is the companion to the other PNB matter and, together, they define how India pursues economic offenders who leave the country. The route is extradition through foreign courts, backed by diplomatic assurances, and asset forfeiture at home. The Choksi matter shows how long that route is: an offence reported in 2018, an arrest abroad in 2025, and clearances through two levels of Belgian courts by the end of that year, with surrender and any trial still ahead.

It also marks a distinction that readers often miss. Attachment and possible auction of assets, and even a clearance of extradition, are steps in a process; they are not a criminal conviction, and the underlying allegations are decided only at trial. The related Nirav Modi extradition matter is at a similar stage in a different jurisdiction, and both sit in the enforcement archive alongside cases at every stage from investigation to conviction.

The practical takeaway is about controls, not personalities. After the PNB matter surfaced, the Reserve Bank of India discontinued letters of undertaking for trade credit in March 2018, closing the specific channel the agencies say was misused. The alleged weakness - transactions kept outside a bank's core banking system - is exactly what reconciliation and audit exist to catch.

FAQ

Has any court found Mehul Choksi guilty?

No. No court in India has convicted him. The CBI and ED cases contain allegations, not findings of guilt; he is presumed innocent until proven guilty, and the Indian trial has not begun. The Belgian proceedings concern extradition, not the merits of the Indian allegations.

What did the Belgian courts decide?

Per the rulings, a court in Antwerp cleared his extradition on 17 October 2025, holding his arrest valid and rejecting his torture-risk claim, and the Court of Cassation rejected his appeal on 10 December 2025. The final decision on surrender rests with the Belgian government.

Has he been extradited to India?

Not as of this review. He remains in custody in Antwerp. Belgian procedure leaves the final surrender decision to the government's justice and security ministry after the courts have cleared extradition.

Has he been declared a fugitive economic offender?

On the material reviewed, no. The ED's application to declare him a fugitive economic offender has been contested and was not reflected in the list placed before the Lok Sabha in December 2025. The application remained pending before the special court.

How much has been recovered?

Per the record, the ED has attached properties valued at about Rs 2,565.90 crore, which are set to be auctioned. Agencies place the broader PNB figure at about Rs 13,000 crore, with some sources citing up to around Rs 13,850 crore, so recovery so far is a fraction of the alleged loss.

Where can I read the official record?

The Government of India's broadcaster reported the Antwerp court's approval of extradition and the Court of Cassation's rejection of the appeal; the details are set out in those rulings.

This report is based on the Government of India broadcaster's report of the Antwerp court's approval of extradition and the Belgian Court of Cassation order of 10 December 2025, reviewed on 1 August 2026.