A Belgian court has rejected fugitive businessman Mehul Choksi’s arguments against his extradition to India in connection with the Rs 13,000-crore Punjab National Bank fraud case, The Indian Express reported on Wednesday.

Choksi, who is wanted by the Central Bureau of Investigation and the Enforcement Directorate in India, was taken into custody by Belgian authorities in April on the basis of an extradition request from New Delhi.

Choksi is one of the prime accused, along with his nephew Nirav Modi, in the PNB fraud case.

On October 17, the Antwerp Court of Appeals ruled that Choksi’s arguments against extradition to India were “irrelevant” and dismissed his claims of facing unfair treatment or torture upon return, The Indian Express reported.

The court held that Choksi had failed to provide sufficient evidence to substantiate his claims of a “flagrant denial of justice” or a risk of “inhuman or degrading treatment” in India.

Choksi had argued that extradition would violate his right to a fair trial, citing concerns about India’s judicial independence and the possibility of political persecution.

He also reiterated claims that he had been abducted from Antigua and subjected to torture in Dominica by Indian agencies. However, the Belgian Court of Appeals found no substantial evidence to support these claims, PTI reported.

The court further rejected his argument that the charges against him were politically motivated.

“The offences cannot be considered political, military or fiscal offences not subject to extradition, and there are no reasons to believe that the extradition request was made with the intention of prosecuting or punishing a person on the basis of their race, religion, nationality or political opinion, nor does the position of the person concerned appear to be adversely affected for any of these reasons,” The Indian Express quoted the court as saying.

Choksi still has the option to appeal the ruling before the Belgian Supreme Court within 15 days, the newspaper reported.

The case

The PNB fraud case came to light in February 2018 when the bank informed the stock exchange BSE that it had detected “fraudulent and unauthorised transactions” worth Rs 11,380 crore at a branch in South Mumbai.

A few officials of the public sector bank had allegedly issued fraudulent Letters of Undertaking to Modi’s companies, resulting in the loss of Rs 6,097 crore to PNB.

Choksi had also defaulted on another loan taken from the ICICI Bank.

He had fled India for Antigua and Barbuda in January 2018, a few weeks before the fraud came to light and secured the citizenship of the Caribbean country.

Choksi has since been living in Belgium with a residency card but was arrested in April this year.

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