Wanted diamond merchant Nirav Modi on Thursday lost his fight against being extradited to India as a United Kingdom judge ruled that he can be sent back to face charges of fraud and money laundering in the estimated $2 billion Punjab National Bank scam case.
'The downslide has been rapid leading up to the number one and number two of the organisation flinging against each other horrendous accusations of bribery and tampering with investigations for personal gain, and the latest petition to the Supreme Court by the joint director of the CBI, M K Sinha, opening a veritable Pandora's Box of repulsive skeletons,' notes B S Raghavan, the distinguished civil servant who witnessed the CBI's birth.
The bench said that he would not tamper with the evidence or attempt to intimidate or influence the witnesses in the case.
Fugitive diamond merchant Nirav Modi, wanted in India in connection with the estimated $2-billion Punjab National Bank (PNB) scam case, was on Tuesday further remanded in custody until January 7 by a UK court hearing his extradition case. The 49-year-old businessman, who has been behind bars at Wandsworth Prison in south-west London since his arrest last year following India's extradition request for him, appeared via videolink for a routine 28-day remand hearing on Tuesday before Westminster Magistrates' Court in London. The final hearings in the extradition case are scheduled over two days, on January 7 and 8 next year, when District Judge Samuel Goozee is scheduled to hear closing arguments from both sides before he hands down his judgment a few weeks later.
In the 25-page defence evidence affidavit, which was served to the UK Crown Prosecution Service, Mallya is learnt to have alleged that his was a case of "political vendetta" and "loss-making business".
In a statement, the BJP chief's son said, ""The article makes false, derogatory and defamatory imputation against me by creating in the minds of right-thinking people an impression that my business owes its 'success' to my father Shri Amitbhai Shah's political position."
The central probe agency had filed a money laundering case to probe the deal and is carrying out the action to collect evidence under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), officials said.
The proclamation was issued by a special anti-money laundering court on June 14 under Section 82 of the Criminal Procedure Code
'With the top court's judgment declaring the Right to Privacy a Fundamental Right, the powers under the provision need to be looked afresh.' 'To utilise such sweeping powers in the right manner will also be a challenge.'
The ED case came about after the CBI first carried out a preliminary enquiry followed by filing a regular case on the orders of the Bombay high court that asked it to look into the allegations of bribery made against Deshmukh by former Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh.
The Bombay high court on Thursday said it would hear the application filed by a social activist seeking to make Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde an accused in the Adarsh housing society scam after the Central Bureau of Investigation completes its probe into the alleged benami transactions.
Wankhede has filed a complaint alleging his movement was being monitored and attached CCTV footage of the Oshiwara cemetery in support of his claim.
The continuation appeal hearing in the extradition case of Nirav Modi, the fugitive diamond merchant wanted in India to face charges of fraud and money laundering amounting to an estimated $2-billion Punjab National Bank (PNB) scam case, is listed to be heard in the high court in London on June 28. The 51-year-old diamond merchant had lodged an appeal against his extradition order on mental health grounds. "The hearing is listed for the 28th June," confirmed the Royal Courts of Justice administrative office last week.
CBI and Enforcement Directorate are probing the huge remittances to Hong Kong from the bank.
The diamond merchant wanted in India on charges of fraud and money laundering in the estimated $2-billion Punjab National Bank scam case, lost his legal battle against extradition as a UK judge ruled that he does have a case to answer before the Indian courts.
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