Mehul Choksi Lawyer Vijay Aggarwal Faces Four Sexual Assault Charges in London
By Anjali Sharma
WASHINGTON – Mehul Choksi’s lawyer Vijay Aggarwal on Thursday was held under custody in London, after charges against 4 sexual-assault involved 2 women as new details from court proceedings have complicated an earlier narrative that linked his detention to alleged visa and work-permit violations.
Aggarwal’s assistant Manpreet Kaur is accused of bringing two women to the Mayfair address after allegedly posting false job adverts.
Both defendants are due before Southwark Crown Court on September 10, court papers stated.
Aggarwal, 57, and his personal assistant Manpreet Kaur, 41, were arrested on August 11 at a luxury serviced townhouse in Mayfair.
They were charged 2 days later and appeared at Westminster Magistrates’ Court before being remanded in custody.
The criminal case reported from London differs significantly from the first accounts of Aggarwal’s detention.
The reports had referred to alleged immigration violations, unauthorised professional work in Britain, and claims that cash was found during an inspection of a Mayfair property.
Aggarwal’s family and associates have strongly contested the money-related claims.
He faces four counts of sexual assault against two women at 29 Brick Street in Mayfair, according to reports from his Westminster Magistrates’ Court appearance.
Three counts related to one woman and an alleged incident at the property on August 9.
A fourth charge concerns another woman and an alleged incident at the same address on May 26.
The August charges were reported as offences under Section 3 of Britain’s Sexual Offences Act 2003.
Under the provision, the offence involves intentional sexual touching where the other person does not consent and the accused does not reasonably believe that person consented.
Sexual assault under Section 3 can carry a maximum sentence of 10 years in custody.
All 4 charges remain allegations and must be proved in court.
According to the London court report Aggarwal and Kaur were arrested at 29 Brick Street on August 11 after Metropolitan Police were alerted to reports of sexual assaults at the address.
The property was described as a five-bedroom, four-storey serviced townhouse of about 4,000 sq ft that can reportedly cost £2,000 approx Rs 2.6 lakh a night.
Police said that 2 other people, a 23-year-old man and a 43-year-old woman, were also arrested in connection with the investigation. They were subsequently released on bail while enquiries continued.
Two women who reported the alleged assaults are being supported by specialist officers.
This is one of the most significant details to emerge from the criminal proceedings.
Kaur faces two counts of intentionally encouraging or assisting the commission of sexual assault. The alleged offences relate separately to May 26 and August 9.
According to the charges reported from court, Kaur allegedly introduced two women to Aggarwal and invited them to the address after posting a false job advertisement.
People close to Aggarwal have strongly objected to reports portrayed the matter as involving money or financial wrongdoing.
“There is nothing on record or in our knowledge to establish any alleged recovery of money from Aggarwal or his involvement with any such funds,” a person close to Aggarwal told media
The person also rejected suggestions that money had been recovered from the lawyer or that he had any involvement with such funds.
Aggarwal and Kaur were remanded in custody after their appearance at Westminster Magistrates’ Court.
Their case has been sent to Southwark Crown Court for a plea and trial preparation hearing on September 10.
A plea and trial preparation hearing is part of the pre-trial process.
The allegations against both defendants remain unproven at this stage.
Aggarwal is a Delhi-based criminal lawyer whose client list has put him at the centre of several prominent Indian financial and corruption cases.
He has represented Mehul Choksi in Indian proceedings and is currently reported to be represented him in his extradition battle in Belgium.
A Bombay High Court judgment in a case filed by Choksi formally records “Mr Vijay Aggarwal, Advocate” as counsel for him.
Choksi has been held in Belgium after his arrest in April 2025 on India’s extradition request over economic offences he is accused of committed in India.
The judgment of the High Court in London also recorded that Choksi was on remand in Belgium pending Indian extradition proceedings.
Aggarwal has also represented Nirav Modi.
In 2018, he publicly spoke as Modi’s lawyer when allegations arising from the Punjab National Bank fraud investigation surfaced.
His other high-profile work has included representing accused persons in the 2G spectrum case.
Contemporary court reporting identifies him as counsel for Swan Telecom promoter Shahid Balwa, while he also represented other accused in the proceedings.
His present London prosecution is unrelated to those cases or to Choksi’s extradition proceedings.
