New Delhi: The bail plea of Punjab National Bank (PNB) scam’s main accused and diamond trader Mehul Choksi has been rejected by the Belgian court again. India’s investigating agency CBI told the court that Choksi has fled from many countries before and if he gets bail, he can again flee to another country.
Choksi was arrested in Belgium in April this year. This arrest was made on the basis of an extradition request sent by India. Earlier also, the Belgian Court of Cassation had rejected his bail plea.
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When was the bail plea filed?
Choksi had filed a new bail plea on August 22, in which he had sought house arrest. But the court rejected it as well. Now Choksi’s extradition hearing will be held in the Belgian court in September. During this hearing, India’s investigating agency CBI will cooperate with the Belgian prosecution team.
Mehul Choksi and his nephew Nirav Modi are both the main accused in the PNB scam. The amount of this scam is said to be around Rs 13 thousand crores. Nirav Modi has been in London jail since 2019 and he is also against extradition to India.
The Indian government presented many evidences India has submitted many important evidence and documents against Choksi to the Belgian government. These include arrest warrants of 2018 and 2021 of the special court of Mumbai.
According to the investigating agencies, officials of PNB’s Mumbai Brady House branch issued 165 Letters of Undertaking (LoUs) and 58 Foreign Letters of Credit (FLCs) between March-April 2017.
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How did the scam happen?
These LoUs were issued without any permission and guarantee amount and were not even recorded in the bank’s system. On the basis of these LoUs, Choksi’s companies got loans from many foreign banks. When the companies did not repay the loans, the responsibility fell on Punjab National Bank.