Mehul Choksi, once a billionaire jeweller and head of Gitanjali Gems, was arrested in Belgium after years on the run, facing extradition for his alleged involvement in India's biggest banking scam-the ₹13,500 crore PNB fraud.

The scandal broke in 2018 when Punjab National Bank (PNB) reported unauthorized Letters of Undertaking (LoUs) issued from its Mumbai Brady House branch. Choksi, along with his nephew Nirav Modi, allegedly conspired with rogue bank officials-particularly Deputy General Manager Gokulnath Shetty-to fraudulently secure 1,200+ LoUs worth billions of rupees under the pretext of importing gems.

These LoUs, normally issued for trade credit from overseas branches of Indian banks, were not recorded in the bank's core system. Investigators say this manipulation helped them siphon off funds and launder money globally, while the actual number of legitimate LoUs issued stood at just 53.

As the scandal unfolded, FIRs, RBI reports, and CBI and ED investigations piled up. The ED revealed that Choksi's companies bypassed banking norms to secure funds and caused massive financial losses to PNB. He fled to Antigua, becoming a citizen there, triggering a long extradition battle. In 2021, he mysteriously vanished from Antigua, surfaced in Dominica claiming abduction, and now, in 2025, he's finally in custody in Belgium.

The arrest rekindles hope for justice in a case that rattled India's financial world, exposed shocking banking loopholes, and symbolized high-profile corporate fraud at its worst.