Antwerp: In a significant step forward in the long-running legal process, the Antwerp Court of Appeal has advised the Belgian government to proceed with the extradition of fugitive diamantaire Mehul Choksi to India on six of seven charges he is facing in India.
The ‘kamer van inbeschuldiging’ (chamber of accusation) of The Antwerp Court of Appeal has said that all the alleged crimes for which Choksi is wanted in India — criminal conspiracy, criminal breach of trust, forgery or fraud, forgery of accounts, obtaining illegal gains by an official or embezzlement, and criminal misconduct — are also punishable by Belgian Law fulfilling the condition of reciprocity, as reported by The Telegraph.
The court, however, gave a negative advice on the count of “tampering or destroying of evidence”, which is not punishable in Belgium, Ken Witpas, Advocaat-Generaal, Antwerp, told PTI.
The government will now decide on India’s extradition request, as per this confidential advice, according to the procedure in Belgium.
The court has also said there is no immediate and direct proof that the “Indian government had any involvement” in Choksi’s alleged abduction from Antigua and Barbuda in 2021, Witpas said.
“If any objective elements would yet emerge out of the ongoing investigations in Antigua or the UK concerning this matter, elements that could link the Indian government to this abduction, the risk of being tortured, “to the opinion of the court, couldn’t be excluded,” he said.
There is an applicable legal base for extradition between the Belgium and India, the court said, holding that crimes for which Choksi is under suspicion is not restricted or limited by statutory limits, neither by Belgian nor by Indian Law, and that these can neither be considered as political, military, nor as an excluded fiscal offence.
There are also no reasons to believe that Choksi will be prosecuted or potentially punished in India based solely on grounds of his race, beliefs, nationality, or political preferences, or that his position on similar grounds will be affected unfavourably, the court held.
Elements raised by the defence regarding risks of denial of Law, fair trial, torture or inhumane treatment (such as prison circumstances) were considered as not made plausible, it advised.
Belgium’s supreme court — the Court of Cassation — had rejected Choksi’s appeal challenging his extradition to India, in connection with the alleged Rs 13,000 crore Punjab National Bank loan fraud, in December last year.
India had sent an extradition request to Belgium on August 27, 2024, based on arrest warrants issued by the special court in Mumbai.
India has given a number of assurances to Belgium about Choksi’s safety, the charges that he would be tried in India, prison arrangements, human rights and medical needs.
The Court of Appeals had ruled that 66-year-old Choksi faces “no risk” of being denied a fair trial or subjected to ill-treatment if he is extradited to India.
