The UK High Court has concluded the hearing for Nirav Modi's application to reopen his extradition appeal, focusing on claims of potential torture during interrogations in India. The court has reserved its judgement.
The High Court of Justice in London has rejected a fresh bail petition filed by diamantaire Nirav Modi, who is wanted in India in connection with the Rs 13,000 crore Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud case.
Nehal Modi, the younger brother of fugitive diamantaire Nirav Modi, has been arrested in the US based on extradition requests from the Enforcement Directorate and the CBI.
Both Purvi Deepak Modi and Neeshal Modi are accused in the $2-billion scam allegedly orchestrated by their elder brother Nirav Modi and uncle Mehul Choksi in Punjab National Bank, they said.
District Judge Marie Mallon said there were substantial grounds to believe that Nirav Modi would fail to surrender if granted bail.
The UK court, which had been presented with detailed submissions regarding the precarious mental health of Nirav Modi and a family history of depression and suicide during the extradition proceedings, concluded on Thursday that the diamond merchant's state of mind may well benefit from a move from his London prison cell to Barrack 12 at Mumbai Central Prison on Arthur Road. As part of a very comprehensive judgment handed down by District Judge Samuel Goozee at Westminster Magistrates' Court in London in which he found a prima facie case of fraud and money laundering against the 49-year-old diamond merchant, it is noted that Modi's risk of suicide may be high but there is no evidence to point to immediate suicidal intentions. The judgment refers to the expert defence witness who had assessed Modi, forensic psychiatrist Andrew Forrester, to point out that Barrack 12 may well be a positive change from Wandsworth Prison in south-west London where he is being held on judicial remand, with the COVID-19 pandemic playing a "significant role" in the deterioration of his "depressive disorder".
The UK judge who handed down his judgment on Thursday in favour of the extradition of Nirav Modi to face charges of fraud and money laundering in India said he had found no evidence of adverse political influence in the case, as claimed by the diamond merchant's legal team.
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 50-year-old jeweller, who remains behind bars at Wandsworth Prison in south-west London, had lost the first stage of the high court appeals process last week as a judge declined permission to appeal "on the papers". Modi's lawyers had five days to file a renewal application seeking an oral hearing to plead the case for permission to appeal against the extradition ordered by UK Home Secretary Priti Patel on April 16.
They said the global arrest warrant against the Belgian national Nehal, 40, has been issued on charges of alleged money laundering that is being probed by the Enforcement Directorate.
The ED has charged the accused under various sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in the over Rs 13,000 crore PNB scam case.
The notice, which acts as an international arrest warrant, states that Purvi Deepak Modi, 44, is required on charges of "money laundering".
The United Kingdom's home department has cleared the extradition of fugitive diamantaire Nirav Modi, who is wanted in an over Rs 13,000-crore bank fraud case, officials said on Friday.
The Singapore high court has put a freeze on deposits of $ 6.122 million following Enforcement Directorate's request on the ground that the money was "proceeds of crime" illegally siphoned off by Nirav Modi from the Punjab National Bank.
Fugitive diamantaire Nirav Modi's sister and brother-in-law have "turned approvers" in the over $2 billion PNB fraud case against him and they will help the Enforcement Directorate confiscate assets worth Rs 579 crore, including Swiss bank deposits, the agency said on Thursday. Forty-nine-year-old Nirav Modi, who is currently lodged in a London jail, his uncle Mehul Choksi and others are being probed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the Punjab National Bank (PNB) money laundering case since 2018. The diamond merchant's younger sister Purvi Modi (47) is a Belgian national while her husband Maiank Mehta is a British citizen. They are stated to be based abroad and have never joined the probe.
Leaving behind the luxe life and dapper suits of foreign banks, Puri and his team at the upstart venture shared fizz drinks, wore a footwear brand popular among the middle class, shared a rat-infested space in a yet-to-be gentrified work space to plan and execute it.
Despite Nirav Modi win, in the last five years, India managed to bring only about 20 fugitive offenders.
RBI seeks detailed report on what happened between 2011 and now; bankers to recall loans to Nirav Modi entities.
If there is a morality tale here, it is that debt and death spare no king.
The agency's poor track record in convictions is the only light at the end of a rather long tunnel for the couple, observes Shyamal Majumdar.
'The BJP is no longer the BJP. It has become the Bharatiya Janata Poaching Party.' 'They talk of black money and here they are ready to pay Rs 100 crore to MLAs.'
A list of at least 20 individuals has been sent to the immigration department to prevent them from flying overseas.
'The web of transactions is so complex that it requires expertise to understand the strategies involved in each fraud.'
Despite the rating agency CARE withdrawing the ratings assigned to the bank facilities of FIPL "with immediate effect" following the receipt of a no-objection certificate (NOC) from the banks, Modi's company received uninterrupted letters of undertaking (LoUs) from PNB, which were honoured by other banks until a few weeks ago.
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