Fugitive businessman Mehul Choksi was taken into custody by Belgian authorities while he was receiving treatment at a hospital in Belgium. His lawyer, Vijay Aggarwal, shared this information, stating that Choksi is currently appealing to the court for release.
According to his lawyer, Choksi has requested the court to allow the investigation to continue without keeping him in custody. The main reason behind this appeal is his poor health and the claim that he is not a flight risk.
Choksi is suffering from Blood Cancer
Vijay Aggarwal revealed that Choksi is undergoing treatment for blood cancer (leukaemia). He also stated that Choksi has suffered serious health problems due to torture he allegedly faced during a previous incident in 2021.
Aggarwal claimed that Choksi was kidnapped from Antigua and taken to Dominica, where he was physically tortured. This led to a condition called Proximal Tibiofibular Fracture and Dislocation (PTFD), which has caused permanent physical damage. The lawyer alleged that Indian agents were involved in the torture and kidnapping.
Sources close to Choksi’s family confirmed that he was indeed in a hospital in Belgium, being treated for leukaemia when he was detained. Belgian media also reported that Choksi’s local lawyer claimed he was tortured and tasered on a boat in 2021 during his transfer from Antigua to Dominica.
His legal team is expected to argue that Choksi cannot receive a fair trial in India, and that his deteriorating health is another reason he should not be extradited or kept in jail.
Whistleblower says “Extradition Will Be Harder from Belgium”
Hariprasad S.V., a whistleblower based in Bengaluru, who first exposed Choksi’s alleged scam, said he doesn’t think Choksi will be brought back to India soon.
He explained that extraditing someone from Belgium is much harder than from countries like Antigua, due to strict European human rights laws and legal protections. “If India couldn’t bring him back from Antigua, it will be even more difficult from Belgium,” Hariprasad said.
Hariprasad shared that he had done business with Mehul Choksi in 2011-12, through a franchise of Gitanjali Lifestyle, a company owned by Choksi. Choksi had promised him guaranteed profits, rent payments, and a 12% annual return on his ₹10 crore investment.
However, by the end of 2013, Hariprasad realized it was a Ponzi scheme and that many others were also cheated. He then filed complaints with government agencies and started gathering evidence on his own.
He claimed that Choksi moved large amounts of money from India to foreign countries. Interestingly, he pointed out that Choksi showed his Indian company as loss-making and his American company as profitable, even though the diamond market in India was strong at the time.
Hariprasad also said he had written to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) years ago, warning them that Choksi might escape from India like Vijay Mallya, Nirav Modi, and Lalit Modi. Despite his alerts, Choksi managed to flee the country, allegedly defrauding Indian banks of thousands of crores.
The case of Mehul Choksi continues to raise serious questions about financial fraud, international law, and extradition. As his lawyers fight his detention in Belgium, Indian authorities may face legal hurdles in bringing him back, especially with allegations of torture, medical issues, and unfair trial conditions.
