Diamond merchant Nirav Modi on Wednesday lost his appeal against extradition on mental health grounds as the high court in London ruled that his risk of suicide is not such that it would be either unjust or oppressive to extradite him to India to face charges of fraud and money laundering. Lord Justice Jeremy Stuart-Smith and Justice Robert Jay, who presided over the appeal hearing at the Royal Courts of Justice earlier this year, said in their verdict that District Judge Sam Goozee's Westminster Magistrates' Court order from last year in favour of extradition was "sound". The leave to appeal in the high court had been granted on two grounds - under Article 3 of the European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR) to hear arguments if it would "unjust or oppressive" to extradite 51-year-old Modi due to his mental state and Section 91 of the Extradition Act 2003, also related to mental health.
Alleging that his arrest in Dominica for illegal entry was "dictated" by representatives of the Indian government, absconding diamantaire Mehul Choksi has filed a case in the high court of Roseau, seeking to quash the proceedings against him, local media there reported. The case was filed against the immigration minister of the Caribbean nation, its police chief and the investigating officer of the case. Choksi, who went missing from Antigua and Barbuda where he had been living since 2018 after his escape from India, was arrested on May 23 in neighbouring Dominica for illegal entry. He was declared a prohibited immigrant by the Ministry of Immigration in Dominica.
'One cannot avoid speculating whether there was something else at play that led to the uncovering of this saga.'
PNB issued a formal appointment letter to Belgium-based consultancy firm BDO
Over 25,600 cases of banking fraud reported up to December 21, 2017, says Minister RS Prasad.
The issuance of NBWs by a court also opens door of seeking Red Corner notices against both of the accused from the Interpol.
Modi is the second businessman after liquor tycoon Vijay Mallya to be declared a fugitive economic offender under provisions of the Fugitive Economic Offenders (FEO) Act which came into existence in August last year.
With a UK court ruling in favour of the extradition of fugitive diamond merchant Nirav Modi, wanted in India on charges of fraud and money laundering in Punjab National Bank (PNB) scam case, Mumbai's Arthur Road jail has kept a special cell ready to lodge him, an official said on Friday.
The Rs 11,400 crore PNB fraud saga unfolded after a bribery complaint by the Hong Kong branch of an Indian bank.
'Paying my taxes, diligently repaying my loans, following the rules, scrupulously doing things by the book, when there's this big, beautiful world of unregulated chicanery I could have indulged in for years before just flying off to greener pastures, like Lalit Modi, Vijay Mallya and Nirav Modi,' says Mitali Saran.
The I-T department also attached 34 bank accounts and fixed deposits, valued at Rs 1.45 crore, of the Gitanjali group.
Despite high exposure of public sector banks to power, iron and steel sectors, analysts remain in a wait-and-watch mode.
The opposition has been protesting over various issues, including the Punjab National Bank scam, since Monday when Parliament had reconvened after a month-long recess in the Budget session.
If his attempt to have his appeal heard in the Supreme Court fails, in principle, Modi can apply to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) to try and block his extradition on the basis that he will not receive a fair trial and that he will be detained in conditions that breach Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights, to which the UK is a signatory.
'Under Modi Ji's 'Jan Dhan Loot Yojana', another scam!' he tweeted.
Reduce the government stake in public sector banks to 33 per cent, recommends A K Bhattacharya
The latest fraud is a failure of management supervision and accountability, as no bad debt was generated and no cash was involved
The Indian High Commission in London on Thursday welcomed the Westminster Magistrates' Court ruling in the extradition case of diamond merchant Nirav Modi, wanted in India to stand trial on charges of fraud and money laundering related to the Punjab National Bank (PNB) letters of undertaking (LoUs) scam case. A senior diplomat at India House said the judgment, which found a prima facie case against the accused, paves the way for the government of India and the high commission officials to liaise with the UK authorities on the next stages of the procedural matters for his early extradition to India. "The judgment paves the way for the government of India, including the High Commission of India in London, to liaise with the UK authorities on the procedural matters," said the diplomat at the High Commission. "As with previous extradition cases, we will press on with the next steps," he said.
The Dominica high court has granted bail to fugitive diamantaire Mehul Choksi, allowing him to travel to Antigua and Barbuda for treatment of his neurological condition, local media there reported. The high court has granted a consent order permitting Choksi to go to Antigua, where he has been staying as a citizen since 2018 after he left India, after depositing Eastern Caribbean Dollars 10,000 (approximately Rs 2.75 lakh as per exchange rate) as bail money, Antigua Breaking News reported. The court has also stayed the ongoing trial before a magistrate for his alleged illegal entry into Dominica on May 23, it said.
The assets have been attached as part of five separate orders issued by the central probe agency under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, it said.
ICAI intends to investigate the chartered accountants of PNB but the bank allegedly refuses to give the information sought.
Bankers seem to be pleased with the government for keeping its promise of not interfering in operational matters, but are apprehensive about the intense scrutiny of their functioning.
Tuesday was the 12th day in a row that Parliament did not functioned and the current stalemate has entered the third week.
The BJP chief said the ED and the CBI have taken prompt action in the Nirav Modi case.
Companies owned by fugitive diamantaire Mehul Choksi have allegedly siphoned off over Rs 6,344.96 crore from the Punjab National Bank (PNB) using fraudulent letters of undertaking and foreign letters of credit, a CBI investigation into the scam has detected. The findings were submitted by the CBI in a supplementary chargesheet filed before a special court in Mumbai last week, where the agency said the PNB was conned by its employees who were allegedly hand in gloves with Choksi and his company executives and who facilitated the scam as part of a criminal conspiracy. The PNB officials at the bank's Brady House branch in Mumbai issued 165 letters of undertaking (LoUs) and 58 foreign letters of credit (FLCs) during March-April 2017, against which 311 bills were discounted.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley revealed that the government wanted to give Hasmukh Adhia a post-retirement role, but Dr Adhia said he would not work for a single day after November 30.
'The web of transactions is so complex that it requires expertise to understand the strategies involved in each fraud.'
The bank also issued 234 LoUs worth Rs 1,880 crore to another group of companies promoted by Mehul Choksi in 2015 and 2016
Sebi has barred fugitive businessman Mehul Choksi and one Rakesh Girdharlal Gajera from the capital markets for one year and levied a fine totalling Rs 2.5 crore on them for violating insider trading rules in the matter of Gitanjali Gems. In addition, they have been restrained from buying, selling or otherwise dealing in securities of Gitanjali Gems Ltd (GGL) for a period of two years. Also, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has directed Gajera to disgorge a sum of Rs 15.82 crore.
ED attached 21 properties of Nirav Modi and his group worth over Rs 523 crore.
He said that Government of Dominica and law enforcement agencies, unless the court rules otherwise, can deport him to India because he is an Indian citizen, Antigua News Room reported.
The banking sector's credibility is on thin ice. Unless the government takes strict steps, things could get worse.
Currently, confiscation can be done through multiple laws, but it is a complicated process.
He also attacked Modi on the CBSE question papers leak and on the 'leak' of assembly election date for Karnataka, saying Modi was silent on these issues too.
The industry body has issued two advisories in an attempt to restore jewellers credibility in the wake of the Rs 12,000-crore PNB-Nirav Modi scam, and recent defaults by two domestic jewellers - Goodwin and Rasiklal.
The possibility of the slowdown affecting more players is greater if the industry doesn't get access to easier finance in the next six to eight months.
'We feel there is definitely something murky in the system.' 'Will anyone believe that Nirav Modi will go to a branch and bribe a low-level officer?' 'Just look at the people with whom he had moved around.'
It has also attached fresh 66 banks accounts, holding deposits of Rs 80.07 crore, of the Gitanjali group, owned by Modi's uncle Mehul Choksi.
The CBI on Wednesday directed him to contact the embassy of India in a country where he is staying so that his travel to India can be arranged
The 49-year-old jeweller, wanted in India on charges of fraud and money laundering in the estimated USD 2-billion Punjab National Bank (PNB) scam case, further remanded in custody during a routine call-over hearing held via videolink at Westminster Magistrates' Court in London.
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