Centre Has 'Zero Tolerance' Towards Fugitives Like Mehul Choksi: Minister

Union Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary on Monday asserted the Modi government has"zero tolerance" towards fugitives like Mehul Choksi and corruption, and said the Centre will work to bring him back soon. Absconding diamantaire Mehul Choksi has been arrested in Belgium following an extradition request by Indian probe agencies for his involvement in the Rs 13,000 crore PNB bank loan "fraud" case, official sources said earlier in the day.

The action against the second "prime suspect" in this case, after Choksi's nephew diamantaire Nirav Modi, was taken on Saturday based on an extradition request moved by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

Choksi, 65, was located in Belgium last year when he went there on the grounds of getting medical treatment. He had been staying in Antigua since 2018 after leaving India. Chaudhary was speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the valediction ceremony of the 77th batch of Indian Revenue Service officers at the National Academy of Direct Taxes in Nagpur.

Asked about Choksi's arrest and how the government was working on his extradition, Chaudhary said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been saying from the very beginning that those who have looted the country's wealth and are absconding will be brought back and the people's money will be returned. "Accordingly, this action has been taken and the government will work towards bringing him back soon," he said. "There is a zero tolerance policy in the Modi government towards such fugitives and corruption," the minister said.

To a query on the reciprocal tariffs imposed by the US on India and if they will impact the Indian economy, Chaudhary said their department was evaluating it. "The tariff imposition has been postponed. But, the department is reviewing how it will impact, and how to control it. The government is focused on this aspect," he said.

(PTI)