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Antigua PM Gaston Browne to News18: “We had revoked Mehul Choksi’s citizenship and also took steps to extradite him. but he challenged it, so it is in court…Until a final determination by the court, he remains a citizen.”
Mehul Choksi was declared a fugitive in January 2018, shortly before the PNB scam became public. Citing medical reasons, he fled India for the US, eventually settling in Antigua. (IANS File Photo)
Amid the arrest of fugitive businessman Mehul Choksi, wanted in India in connection with the Rs 14,000-crore Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud case, in Belgium, Gaston Browne, Prime Minister of Antigua, said while their government had revoked his citizenship, the matter is pending in court.
While the fraud, involving Choksi, Nirav Modi and others, was unearthed in 2018, Choksi had got Antiguan citizenship a year prior. Choksi settled in Antigua in 2018. The diamantaire was granted residency in Belgium on November 15, 2023 on the grounds of getting medical treatment for blood cancer. He reportedly relocated from Antigua to Belgium in 2024.
WE HAD REVOKED CHOKSI’S CITIZENSHIP: ANTIGUAN PM
Antigua PM Gaston Browne reacted to Choksi’s arrest in Belgium saying, “We had revoked his citizenship, but he challenged it, so it is in court…Until a final determination by the court, he remains a citizen. But all steps have been taken to revoke the citizenship.”
When asked about reports that Choksi has taken temporary citizenship of Belgium, Browne said, “We allow dual citizenship, but I don’t know if he is a citizen of Belgium.”
Browne said he didn’t know if Choksi had left Antigua. “We revoked his citizenship and also took steps to extradite him. It is subject to process as the matter is in court. Our position has always been very clear,” he said.
BELIGUM ACTED ON INDIA’s EXTRADITION REQUEST
Earlier this year, Choksi’s legal counsel informed a special court in Mumbai that he is currently in Antwerp, Belgium, undergoing treatment for blood cancer.
Citing officials, news agency PTI reported that Choksi was arrested in Belgium on India’s extradition request for his role in the PNB case.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had requested Choksi’s extradition from Belgium after he was located in the country in March 2025. His arrest was based on this request, supported by two non-bailable warrants issued by a Mumbai court on May 23, 2018, and June 15, 2021.
BIGGEST SCAM IN INDIAN BANKING HISTORY
Choksi and his nephew, Nirav Modi, have been accused of defrauding the PNB of over Rs 14,000 crore, one of the biggest scams in the history of Indian banking. He has been declared a Fugitive Economic Offender (FEO) by the government of India.
In 2022, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) had filed its third charge sheet against Choksi, his wife Priti Choksi and others over their alleged involvement in the loan fraud.
The ED had alleged that Choksi, his firm Gitanjali Gems and others “committed the offence of cheating against Punjab National Bank in connivance with certain bank officials by fraudulently getting the LOUs (letters of undertaking) issued and got the FLCs (foreign letter of credit) enhanced without following prescribed procedure and caused a wrongful loss to the bank.”
The ED has filed three charge sheets against Choksi till now. The CBI too has filed similar charge sheets against him.
