For the seventh time, a London court has today denied bail to the fugitive diamantaire Nirav Modi, who was arrested in connection with the fraud and money laundering case of Punjab National Bank.
Nirav Modi, who is wanted in India by the Central Bureau of Investigation and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in Rs 13,500 crore Punjab National Bank NSE -1.25 % (PNB) fraud case has filed a bail plea before the Westminster Magistrate’s Court. The application was reportedly made on the basis of ‘new evidence’, however, Westminster Magistrates’ Court District Judge Samuel Goozee was not convinced to reverse the previous bail rejections in Modi’s case.
All of his bail applications, which came with an offer stringent conditions akin to house arrest and a bail bond security of 4 million pounds have been rejected each time as he has been deemed to have the financial means and motivation to abscond.
Nirav has been at London’s Wandsworth Prison since his arrest in March 2019. Reportedly, he will appear before a court next month for the second phase of his extradition trial, via video-link.
Last month, the UK court has extended Nirav’s remand till the next scheduled hearing in his ongoing extradition trial on November 3. The CBI and ED, seeking Nirav Modi’s extradition to India, are being represented by the Crown Prosecution Service in the UK. Nirav has applied for political asylum in the UK after he was denied bail five times.
In June 2020, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) had been granted leave to secure movable and immovable assets located in Mumbai, Rajasthan, the United Arab Emirates and the UK under the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act.
India is currently making efforts to extradite Nirav Modi from the UK and his uncle Choksi from Antigua and Barbuda where he is now a citizen.
