‘Risked My Life To Expose Scam’: Whistleblower After Mehul Choksi’s Arrest

Santosh Srivastava, the ex-Managing Director of Gitanjali Gems, has expressed his approval of the capture of fugitive businessman Mehul Choksi in Belgium. In an interview on Monday, Srivastava called on the government to guarantee Choksi’s prompt extradition and full recovery of the embezzled money.

“It’s great news that Mehul Choksi has been arrested in Belgium. As a whistle-blower in this case, who risked my life to try and expose it, I hope that the government brings him back to the country as soon as possible. Every bit of the money involved should be recovered,” he said.

Choksi was arrested in Belgium on Saturday after local authorities confirmed his presence in the country. Sources said that preparations were being made for his extradition to India. However, Choksi has started preparing for a legal battle, with lawyers looking to secure bail.

His lawyer, Vijay Aggarwal, said on Monday that they will be filing an appeal to release the businessman from custody, citing his ill health and ongoing cancer treatments.

“My client, Mehul Choksi, has been arrested in Belgium, and at the moment, he is in custody. We will be starting the process of filing an appeal against this, and then, as a process of appeal, we will be requesting that he be pulled out of prison. The major ground for the plea is his ill health and that he is undergoing cancer treatment, and ofcourse, he is not a flight risk at all,” Choksi’s lawyer, Vijay Aggarwal, told  in Delhi.

The 65-year-old wanted diamond trader who departed India on January 2, 2018, is being sought by the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for purportedly swindling the PNB of Rs 13,850 crore. His nephew, Nirav Modi, was likewise implicated in the fraud alongside him.

Following the arrest, whistle-blower Hariprasad SV from the Punjab National Bank scam stated that it will be quite challenging for India to bring Choksi back since he will hire top lawyers in Europe to evade the procedure. In an interview, Hariprasad recalled the moment when Choksi managed to avoid the legal proceedings while he was apprehended in Dominica.