India, Oct. 18 -- In a significant step toward bringing back fugitive diamantaire Mehul Choksi, a court in Antwerp, Belgium, on Friday rejected his appeal against extradition, moving India closer to securing his return.

The Antwerp court termed his arrest by the Belgian authorities based on India's request as valid, according to people familiar with the development, HT reported earlier.

In September, the Court of Appeals in Antwerp heard the appeal of Mehul Choksi, who was arrested in that country on April 11 on the basis of extradition request sent by the Central Bureau of Investigaton.

The court order gave a major jolt to the fugitive businessman wanted for a Rs.13,000 crore bank fraud in the Punjab National Bank orchestrated in coll...