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Fugitive diamond tycoon Mehul Choksi, once among India’s wealthiest jewellers with an estimated net worth of ₹20,000 crore, has been arrested in Belgium in a major breakthrough related to the ₹13,500 crore Punjab National Bank (PNB) scam.
Choksi, the former chairman and managing director of Geetanjali Gems, was detained earlier this month following a request from Indian authorities for extradition. The arrest marks a significant development in one of India’s largest banking fraud cases.
Mehul Choksi’s Rise: From Diamond Mogul to Fugitive
Born into a family of jewellers, Mehul Choksi founded Geetanjali Gems in 1986 and expanded it into a global jewellery empire. At its peak, the company owned over 4,000 retail stores across India, managing renowned brands like Gili, Asmi, Sangini, and D’damas. In 2006, Choksi further boosted his international presence by signing a retail deal with Samuel Jewellers, which operated over 100 stores across the United States.
At the height of his business empire, Choksi publicly claimed his net worth was around ₹20,000 crore. “When I left India, my total net worth was around Rs 20,000 crore,” he had stated in a Business Standard interview.
The ₹13,500 Crore PNB Scam and Choksi’s Escape
Choksi, along with his nephew Nirav Modi, is accused of defrauding Punjab National Bank of ₹13,500 crore between 2017 and 2018 by illegally obtaining Letters of Undertaking (LoUs) and Foreign Letters of Credit (FLCs). Investigations revealed that officials at PNB’s Brady House branch in Mumbai had issued 165 LoUs and 58 FLCs without proper documentation or entry into the bank’s system.
These unauthorized guarantees were used to secure credit from overseas banks like SBI (Mauritius and Frankfurt), Allahabad Bank (Hong Kong), and Axis Bank (Hong Kong). When Choksi’s companies defaulted, PNB had to repay nearly ₹6,345 crore (around USD 965 million) to these foreign lenders.
Whistleblower Speaks Out
Hariprasad SV, the whistleblower who first flagged the scam in 2016 through a letter to the Prime Minister’s Office, welcomed the arrest. “This is a great moment not just for India, but also for all the people who were duped by Mehul Choksi. The government must bring him back to India as soon as possible, and justice must be delivered,” he told ANI.
Choksi had been living in Antigua since he fled India in early 2018, months before the scam was made public. India had previously tried to extradite him, but legal hurdles in Antigua delayed the process. His arrest in Belgium offers a renewed chance for Indian agencies to bring him back to face trial.
ALSO READ: Mehul Choksi Arrested: What Are The Legal Charges He Faces For ₹13,500 Crore PNB Scam?
