WILL BELGIUM DENY THE EXTRADITION OF THE BILLIONAIRE FUGITIVE MEHUL CHOKSI TO INDIA?

We must now wait until September to learn whether the man we once called India's Most Wanted Fugitive, MEHUL CHOKSI, will be extradited to his native India to face the music, don't assume that the court in Belgium, which must decide his fate, will order he be transferred to Indian authorities, so that he may be transported home. Extradition requests can be denied, and Choksi's Belgian attorneys have interposed procedural objections, which could result in the court declining to approve his return to India. Lawyers who don't have the law on their side often seek relief through purely procedural actions.

Additionally, there are a number of other considerations, any one of which the court might seize upon as grounds to refuse extradition; although Choksi had a form of Belgian residency that allows extradition, reports state that he was either considering, or had already manifested the intent to step up to the local version of residency where one cannot be extradited abroad. His wife reportedly hold the non-extraditable form of residency.

Then of course, we have his health issue. Due to his poor health, he was reportedly scheduled to travel to Switzerland for medical treatment there. Whether that will be a factor in the court's decision we cannot say, but his counsel seems to have thrown out a number of issues, any one of which could result in a decision to deny extradition.

Considering how Choksi was able to defer extradition from Antigua, where he adroitly used his Citizenship by Investment (CIP) passport to delay the proceedings for many years, I would not count out his chances to escape justice once more. Whatever the ultimate outcome, we will be reporting on it here.