Wouldn't be easy to bring him back to India, says complainant Vaibhav Khuraniya on Choksi's arrest
Apr 14, 2025
Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India], April 14 : Following the arrest of fugitive businessman Mehul Choksi by Belgian authorities on Saturday, Vaibhav Khuraniya, one of the complainants in a fraud case against Choksi, said that it may not be easy to bring him back to India due to legal complexities involved in extradition.
Speaking to ANI on Monday, Khuraniya stated that he is hopeful for bringing Choksi back to India to face justice; however, he showed his dismay, noting the authority's failure to also get Vijay Mallya back to the country.
"I just hope, although I don't think it's going to work out. Since they couldn't get Vijay Mallya for so long, I don't think he can be brought back to India so easily because there are so many legalities which are involved. I suppose he has carried this kind of fraud across the world. He has been selling very low-quality diamonds at exceptionally high rates. That's probably why even Nirav Modi is in jail," Khuraniya said.
"Only after he comes back to India will I be more hopeful than him being arrested there," he added.
In 2016, an FIR against Choksi was lodged at the Amar Colony police station in South Delhi following an order from a metropolitan magistrate in the Saket court based on Khuraniya's complaint.
According to the FIR, Khuraniya and his associate had entered into a retail franchise agreement with Gitanjali Gems, a company led by Choksi. The agreement reportedly promised stocks worth Rs 3 crore in the form of diamond jewellery and gifts in exchange for a security deposit of Rs 1.5 crore.
However, Khuraniya alleged that on the opening day of the franchise store in Rajouri Garden, West Delhi, in 2013, they received substandard diamond jewellery and goods valued at only Rs 50-70 lakh.
Meanwhile, Mehul Choksi was arrested in Belgium on Saturday after local authorities confirmed his presence in the country. The 65-year-old fugitive diamond merchant who left India on January 2, 2018, is wanted by the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for allegedly defrauding the PNB of Rs 13,850 crore. His nephew, Nirav Modi, was also involved with him in the fraud.
