Fugitive diamond merchant Mehul Choksi suffered a major legal blow on Tuesday after Belgium’s Supreme Court dismissed his appeal challenging the order that cleared the path for his extradition to India. The verdict strengthens India’s case and removes one of the last major barriers in the long-running extradition process.

The decision comes months after the Antwerp Court of Appeal upheld India’s extradition request and declared the order “enforceable”.

Choksi had moved the Court of Cassation in October, hoping to overturn the appellate court’s verdict, but Belgium’s top judicial body refused to intervene. The rejection marks a significant step forward for Indian authorities, who have been pursuing Choksi since he fled the country in 2018 after being named in the multi-crore Punjab Nation

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