India, April 15 -- Nine months after Mehul Choksi was located by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in Belgium, authorities in Antwerp arrested the fugitive diamantaire on Saturday based on a formal request from the Indian government, people familiar with the development said on Monday, terming it a major breakthrough in a $2 billion fraud perpetrated on Punjab National Bank (PNB).

Top officials told HT that the Belgian government issued an "order of arrest" for Choksi on November 25 last year , but that the process took time because he is undergoing medical treatment.

A team from CBI is expected to travel to Antwerp in a week's time and discuss extradition proceedings with the Belgian ministry of justice office bearers. India ha...