Appeals by PNB scammer Nirav Modi to the high court of London have been rejected and he will be extradited to India to face fraud and money laundering charges. This is an important victory for Indian authorities who have been trying to get a hold of the financial fraudster for several years now.
Nirav Modi was arrested in connection with the Punjab National Bank fraud case, where he is accused of bungling Rs 13,600 crores through fraudulent letters. He was charged by the Indian government with criminal conspiracy, criminal breach of trust, cheating, corruption, money laundering, fraud, embezzlement and breach of contract in August 2018 in this case.
Justice Robert Jay and Lord Justice Jeremy Stuart-Smith, who presided over the appeal hearing earlier this year, delivered the verdict. In addition to this case, the first complaint was made in January 2018 by Punjab and National Bank against Nirav Modi, his uncle Mehul Choksi, and others who committed fraud totalling Rs. 2.81 trillion. Modi and his uncle, however, left the nation before the police could apprehend them.
Nirav Modi was thought to be in Switzerland. Moreover, he was featured in the group photo of the Indian CEO and Prime Minister Modi that was released at the World Economic Forum on January 23, 2018, six days before the PNB's first official fraud complaint.
Nirav Modi comes from a Gujrati family. As a founder of Firestar Diamond, he possessed numerous retail businesses all over the world, including Mumbai, Delhi, London, New York, Hong Kong, and Macau. After dropping out of Wharton Business School, Nirav Modi came to India. During his stay in India, his uncle trained him in the diamond trade. And just in time, he opened his own Nirav Modi jewellery brand which was popular to have a rich International client base.
Nirav Modi, his uncle, and the rest of his family fled India and went into hiding after defrauding the country of Rs 13,600 crores. In the UK, they were leading fugitive lives. However, the Special PMLA Court declared Nirav Modi an offender under the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act 2018 in 2019.
In April 2021, the UK government approved Modi's extradition after his arrest in 2019. He did not come to India even though his extradition was announced. Modi was detained at Wandsworth prison in southwest London.
Modi’s extradition is taking way too much time because Modi and his legal team applied with the High Court of London in 2021, stating that Nirav Modi's mental health has been deteriorating and the UK High Court could consider that before making a decision. They have also pointed out Covid-19 prison restriction rules.
Following that, the UK High Court allowed his appeal in 2021 on two grounds: Section 91 of the Extradition Act 2003 and Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which allows for the hearing of arguments regarding whether it would be "unjust or oppressive" to extradite 51-year-old Modi for reasons related to his mental state.
However, after hearing Modi's pleas against extradition, the UK court decided to support India and not stand in its way. According to PTI, Modi can now appeal to the Supreme court within 14 days of the High Court appeal.
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