Tag Archives: whistleblower

Surprise Twist After 6-Year Hunt, Fugitive Tycoon Mehul Choksi Arrested in Belgium

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In a dramatic turn of events that has stunned both investigators and the public, fugitive diamond trader Mehul Choksi—accused in India’s largest-ever bank fraud case—has been arrested in Belgium after years on the run. The unexpected arrest has rekindled hopes for justice in the ₹13,500 crore Punjab National Bank (PNB) scam that rocked the country’s financial system in 2018.

Choksi, who had been hiding in Antigua and Barbuda since fleeing India, was reportedly detained in Belgium on the basis of a Red Corner Notice issued by Interpol at India’s request. The development comes after years of diplomatic and legal wrangling, and amid fears that the 64-year-old might never be brought back to face trial.

The timing and location of the arrest have added a layer of intrigue. While Indian authorities were focused on legal proceedings in the Caribbean, Choksi’s sudden appearance in Belgium has raised eyebrows. “This arrest was completely unexpected,” said a senior official from the Enforcement Directorate, which has been pursuing Choksi under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.

Adding a poignant twist to the saga is the voice of Hariprasad SV, the whistleblower who first flagged irregularities in PNB’s credit system back in 2013. Speaking to NDTV after Choksi’s arrest, Hariprasad said: “The important thing is not the arrest, the important thing is the recovery of money.” His statement underlines the enduring human cost of white-collar crimes—thousands of lives impacted, reputations destroyed, and public trust shaken.

In 2018, Indian authorities revealed that Choksi and his nephew Nirav Modi had allegedly orchestrated a massive fraud using fake Letters of Undertaking issued by complicit PNB officials. The scam led to a massive clean-up in the banking sector and exposed gaping loopholes in financial oversight.

The PNB fraud not only destabilised one of India’s oldest banks, but also sent shockwaves through the global business community, given Choksi’s once-respectable stature as the owner of the Gitanjali Group and a well-known name in high-end jewellery circles.

Though Choksi repeatedly claimed he was being politically persecuted, Indian agencies pressed ahead, revoking his passport and mounting pressure through international legal channels. His Antigua citizenship further complicated matters, and in a dramatic episode in 2021, Choksi alleged he was abducted from the island nation—a claim that was later debunked by local courts.

What makes this arrest in Belgium even more riveting is the sheer unpredictability of it. Choksi had dropped out of the public eye, with his lawyers challenging extradition attempts on health and human rights grounds. There was growing concern that he might successfully outmaneuver the Indian legal system altogether.

With his arrest, India has renewed its extradition efforts. Sources say the Ministry of External Affairs has already begun formal communication with Belgian authorities. If successful, Choksi could finally face trial in India alongside Nirav Modi, who remains in a UK prison contesting his own extradition.

For the families of affected bank employees, investors, and taxpayers, this arrest is more than just a legal milestone. It is a glimmer of accountability. As Hariprasad poignantly noted, “People who loot public money should not be allowed to go scot-free.”

Ukraine crisis: Russian gas pipelines leaking, sabotage suspected [Video]

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European countries rushed to probe unexplained leaks in two Russian gas pipelines running under the Baltic Sea near Sweden and Denmark, at the heart of an energy crisis since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Sweden’s Maritime Authority issued a warning about two leaks in the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, the day after a leak on the nearby Nord Stream 2 pipeline, restricting shipping and impose a small no fly zone by Denmark.

The country’s armed forces released a video showing bubbles boiling up to the surface of the sea, revealing it to be a major gas leak disturbing the surface of about 1 km (0.6 mile) in diameter, the armed forces said.

Russia, which built the gas pipeline network, said the possibility of sabotage could not be ruled out.

The gas pipelines leak on the Nord Stream pipelines that Russia with European partners spent billions of dollars building, comes close on the occasion of Dmitry Medvedev, a former president, who reiterated that Russia had the right to defend itself with nuclear weapons if it is pushed beyond its limits and that this is “certainly not a bluff”.

Meanwhile, Kazakhstan is struggling to accommodate tens of thousands of Russians who have fled their homeland since Moscow announced a military mobilization recruiting the youth last week, officials say, but the Almaty government said it has no plans to close its border.

Snowden granted Russian citizenship

Another blow to the West is that Putin has granted Russian citizenship to former U.S. intelligence contractor Edward Snowden, nine years after he exposed the scale of secret surveillance operations by the National Security Agency.

 

Chinese spy working at Twitter? FBI asks company after whistleblower reveals it

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Chinese rights activists overseas have said that they are concerned but unsurprised at recent allegations that an agent of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) was working at Twitter, saying such infiltration is part of Beijing’s global influence operation, media reports said.

The FBI informed Twitter of at least one Chinese agent among its employees, according to US Senator Chuck Grassley, while hacker and whistleblower Peiter Zatko said the company’s lax security sparked fears that personal data on Chinese users was being collected by authorities in China, RFA reported.

Zatko, Twitter’s former head of security, levelled the allegations during his testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee, detailing internal clashes between some who sought advertising revenue from China, and others who were concerned about doing business inside China amid rising geopolitical tensions, the report said.

“This was a big internal conundrum,” Zatko told the hearing, adding that Twitter appeared reluctant to turn away from China. “In a nutshell, if we were already in bed, it would be problematic if we lost that revenue stream,” he said.

Zatko said the FBI had told the company that China’s secret service, the Ministry of State Security, had an agent on the payroll, RFA reported.

A Twitter spokesperson said the microblogging platforms hiring process was independent of foreign influence, and that access to personal data was subject to stringent controls, adding that Zatko’s allegations were “riddled with inconsistencies and inaccuracies.”

France-based commentator Wang Longmeng said the CCP has long targeted Western social media platforms to wage its overseas influence campaigns, and that some of the company’s regional executives have close ties to the CCP, including Kathy Chen, RFA reported.

Chen’s 2016 appointment as Twitter’s managing director for Greater China raised concerns in particular, as it emerged she had served as a software engineer in the People’s Liberation Army’s strategic missile force.

“Kathy Chen, who had a military background, joined [the company], then Fei-fei Li became an independent director,” Wang said. “The CCP’s infiltration of Western media is one of its key strategies.”

“It’s not surprising that the whistleblower revealed there are Chinese agents at Twitter, because there have been suspensions and deleted accounts, and yet Twitter still allows CCP diplomats to spread rumors and lies,” he said, RFA reported.

While China bans Twitter, Facebook and other US social media firms, government agencies and diplomats use the platforms to reach an international audience.