No Relief For Mehul Choksi As Belgium Court Rejects Appeal Against Extradition

The court previously dismissed his claims of a political trial, kidnapping, and risk of injustice in India, validating Indian arrest warrants. Charges include fraud and embezzlement, meeting extradition requirements.

Belgium's Court of Cassation upheld the extradition order for Mehul Choksi, rejecting his appeal.

Source : ANI

On Tuesday, the Belgian Court of Cassation rejected Choksi’s appeal against his extradition, effectively upholding last month’s decision of the Antwerp Court of Appeals that approved India’s request for his return.

Choksi had challenged the Antwerp ruling before Belgium’s highest court on October 30. He has been lodged in a prison in Antwerp since his arrest in April on the basis of an extradition request sent by India’s Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

Confirming the development, Henri Vanderlinden, advocate general at Brussels, told Hindustan Times by email on Tuesday: “The Court of Cassation rejected the appeal (of Choksi). So, the decision of the Court of Appeal stands.”

No Political Trial, No Risk of Injustice, Rules Belgian Court

While ordering Choksi’s extradition last month, the Antwerp Court of Appeals had dismissed his claim that he was the victim of a “political trial” and ruled that he did not face any risk of torture or denial of justice in India.

The court also rejected his argument that he had been kidnapped from Antigua and Barbuda at the behest of Indian authorities in May 2021. In its judgment, it held that the Indian arrest warrants issued on May 23, 2018, and June 15, 2021—both based on CBI requests—were legally “enforceable.”

Arrest Warrants Valid Under Reciprocity Principle

The Belgian court noted that the charges against the 65-year-old include criminal conspiracy, criminal breach of trust, fraud, embezzlement and criminal misconduct. It observed that these offences carry a minimum prison sentence of one year in both India and Belgium, satisfying the legal requirement of reciprocity for extradition.

Choksi was arrested by Antwerp police on April 11 this year and has remained behind bars since then. With Belgium’s highest court now rejecting his final legal challenge, the path has been cleared for his extradition to India, marking a significant step forward in the long-running pursuit of the fugitive businessman.