The central government has already conducted an assessment of security cover given to prisoners in the Arthur Road Jail and its findings conveyed to the UK court.
The legal procedure of extradition of an accused takes its own time and Indian investigators, both from the CBI and ED, are tracking the case.
The issuance of NBWs by a court also opens door of seeking Red Corner notices against both of the accused from the Interpol.
The Rs 11,400 crore PNB fraud saga unfolded after a bribery complaint by the Hong Kong branch of an Indian bank.
The agency has so far seized diamonds, gold jewellery and other precious stones worth Rs 5,716 crore in the case and summoned Modi and Choksi, the promoter of Gitanjali Gems, to appear before it on February 23 at its Mubai zonal office.
Diamantaire Mehul Choksi, a key accused in the multi-crore PNB scam, has told a special court in Mumbai that he hasn't been able to return to India "due to reasons beyond his control" and hence cannot be declared a "fugitive economic offender". The accused has claimed that he didn't leave India to avoid criminal prosecution nor is he refusing to return to the country. He said his passport has been suspended by Indian authorities.
The 49-year-old jeweller, fighting extradition to India on charges of fraud and money laundering in the estimated $2-billion Punjab National Bank scam case, has made around six previous attempts at bail at the magistrates' court as well as at the high court level.
The authorities have received the opinion of structural engineers, and would start removing exotic fittings, valuable fixtures, window grills and other utensils, as per their advice. They also found cushions, glass frames, a plush swimming pool and a spa, furniture made from Burma teak.
Modi's defence team doubled the bail security to 2 million pounds and offered he would stay on 24-hour curfew at his London flat.
Nirav Modi, wanted in connection with the estimated $2-billion Punjab National Bank (PNB) scam case, was further remanded in custody on Tuesday by a court in London hearing India's extradition request for the diamond merchant. The 49-year-old appeared on Tuesday via videolink from Wandsworth Prison in south-west London, dressed in a maroon sweater and sporting a full beard, for his regular 28-day "call-over hearing" at Westminster Magistrates' Court, where Chief Magistrate Emma Arbuthnot extended his remand for another 28 days until December 29.
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Wanted diamond merchant Nirav Modi, who remains behind bars in a London prison as he contests his extradition to India on charges of fraud and money laundering in the estimated $2-billion Punjab National Bank (PNB) scam case, will find out the UK court's ruling in the nearly two-year-long legal battle on Thursday. The 49-year-old is expected to appear via videolink from Wandsworth Prison in south-west London at Westminster Magistrates' Court, where District Judge Samuel Goozee is set to hand down his judgment on whether the jeweller has a case to answer before the Indian courts. The magistrates' court ruling will then be sent back to UK Home Secretary Priti Patel for a sign off, with the possibility of appeals in the High Court on either side depending on the outcome.
He is set to be produced from custody before Judge Emma Arbuthnot for the first management hearing in the case, during which a broad timeline is expected for his extradition trial.
Officials said the Enforcement Directorate along with the Central Bureau of Investigation launched fresh searches on March 22 at the Samudra Mahal luxury residential flats of Modi in Mumbai's Worli area which resulted in the recovery of fresh valuables.
A UK judge presiding over the extradition proceedings of Nirav Modi on Tuesday ruled that the evidence submitted by the Indian authorities to establish a prima facie case of fraud and money laundering against the fugitive diamantaire is broadly admissible. District Judge Samuel Goozee heard the arguments for and against the admissibility of certain witness statements provided by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Enforcement Directorate (ED) at Westminster Magistrates' Court in London and concluded that he considered himself "bound" by the previous UK court rulings in the extradition case of former Kingfisher Airlines chief Vijay Mallya. He then adjourned the case for a two-day hearing on January 7 and 8 next year, when he will hear the final submissions in the case before he hands down his judgment a few weeks later.
The 49-year-old jeweller, fighting extradition in the estimated $2-billion Punjab National Bank (PNB) scam case, will appear via videolink from Wandsworth Prison in south-west London for the latest hearing in the case, during which District Judge Samuel Goozee will hear his defence team's arguments against the admissibility of certain evidence provided by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Enforcement Directorate (ED) in order to establish a prima facie case against the accused.
Only 40 per cent of the forensic information required was made available by PNB and as such, there is no way that one can put a cap on the total value of LoUs issued. He is the second Indian to be declared a fugitive economic offender, after liquor baron Vijay Mallya.
The five-day extradition trial of fugitive diamond merchant Nirav Modi will begin from May 11 in a part-remote setting, a UK court has ordered. Modi is fighting his extradition to India over the nearly USD 2 billion Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud and money laundering case.
ED said the United Kingdom's home secretary recently referred India's request for extraditing the tainted businessman to a court for initiating legal proceedings against him.
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CBI has registered a case against general secretary of Mumbai BJP Mohit Kamboj, his jewellery manufacturing firm Avyaan Overseas, its directors, few mid-level bankers and others for alleged diversion of funds by availing fraudulent foreign bills negotiation limit and export packaging credit limit, issued by lender Bank of India between 2013 and 2018.
Modi, 48, is currently living in a three-bedroom flat occupying half of a floor of the landmark Centre Point tower block, where rent is estimated to cost 17,000 (Rs 15 lakh) a month, The Telegraph reported.
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The ED on Monday also examined the state-owned bank's executive director K V Brahmaji Rao to understand how the alleged fraud was detected and other banking procedures.
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Most of the legal cases in the UK are switching to videolink and telephonic options where possible, with all new jury trials suspended amid the social distancing rules in place to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.
Modi, 46, who had figured in the Forbes' list of richest Indians, has been named in the cheating case on a complaint from the PNB, which alleged that the jewellery firm owner, his brother, wife and Choksi entered into a criminal conspiracy with the officials of the bank and cheated it, causing a "wrongful loss".
The 49-year-old jeweller, who has been lodged at Wandsworth Prison in south-west London since his arrest in March last year, appeared via videolink for the remand hearing at Westminster Magistrates' Court in London.
As many as 68 artworks went under the hammer on Tuesday evening and included works by the greats like Raja Ravi Varma, V S Gaitonde, F N Souza, Jogen Chowdhury, and Akbar Padamsee among others.
The I-T department also attached 34 bank accounts and fixed deposits, valued at Rs 1.45 crore, of the Gitanjali group.
"He is expected to be produced before the court for a second bail application hearing on March 29," a court official in London confirmed on Tuesday.
He appeared via videolink from the prison as his legal team offered a package of "stringent" bail measures, including bail security of 4 million pound, house arrest with a 24-hour electronic tag as well as a private security guard service and a strictly monitored access to gadgets and telephones.
The Reserve Bank of India also banned with immediate effect issuance of letters of comfort which, like LoUs, are used by importers to fund their overseas purchases.
While PNB did not name the other lenders, Union Bank of India, Allahabad Bank and Axis Bank are said to have offered credit based on letters of undertaking (LOUs) issued by PNB. Foreign bank branches too are under investigation.
Officials said they have put freeze orders on bank accounts containing Rs 30 crore and shares worth Rs 13.86 crore of the group.
Besides the passports, Modi also possesses multiple residency cards, some of them expired, but covering countries/regions such as the UAE, Singapore and Hong Kong.
Modi also reiterated that he cannot return to India due to safety concerns and also because his case has been politicised.
As many as 17 locations in Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Jaipur and Surat were raided by the ED.
'Four weeks have passed after the scam was exposed, yet no big guy has been arrested.' 'This gives the impression that he wants to be soft on the biggies.'
The third day of the five-day hearing at Westminster Magistrates' Court, presided over by Justice Samuel Goozee, was devoted to the defence laying out further arguments against a prima facie case of fraud and money laundering against Modi.
