Celina Jaitly has revealed that she left Austria with very little money to return to India after learning of her brother's detention in the United Arab Emirates. Her brother, Major (Retd) Vikrant Kumar Jaitly, a former Special Forces officer and UN peacekeeper, has been under detention in the UAE since September 2024.

According to Celina Jaitly, her brother was "arbitrarily detained". She received a call on September 29, 2024, informing her of his detention. Initially, she thought it was a prank. Major Jaitly was reportedly picked up from a mall in September 2024. For approximately nine months, his whereabouts were unknown, and there was no formal record of his arrest or access to legal representation. Celina Jaitly stated that she only learned in June 2025 that he had been moved to the Al-Wathba Detention Centre in Abu Dhabi.

Celina Jaitly has appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for intervention in her brother's case. She described the detention as unlawful and said it has stretched on for over 16 months. She recounted that her brother was allegedly taken from the Mall of the Emirates parking area by unidentified individuals who asked for his Emirates ID and took him away in a black car.

According to the family, Vikrant was detained on grounds cited as "national security," but for months there was no clarity on charges, prosecution, or legal status, and he remained incommunicado for a long time.

Celina Jaitly had been living in Austria and described herself as being in a difficult marriage. She stated that she had stepped away from her career for over 15 years, entrusting her partner with finances and property, only to later lose access to both her assets and her three sons.

Vikrant Jaitly was the CEO and Managing Partner of Matiti Group in UAE, a company he co-founded with his wife, Charul Jaitly. One of the group's companies, Matiti Tech, was contracted by the UAE government to handle cyber intelligence and security risk management. It has been reported that UAE authorities apprehended an NRI businessman for allegedly sharing UAE government cyber intelligence and security secrets with Israeli intelligence, and during interrogation, Vikrant Jaitly's name was mentioned as an accomplice.

After almost 17 months of appeals, Celina Jaitly has finally received some relief. The court has ordered the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) to hire legal help in the UAE to prepare a defense for her brother. A UAE-based legal firm, Khalid Almarri Partners and Advocates, will represent Vikrant Jaitly and seek to meet with him to understand the reasons for his detention.