Fugitive Nirav Modi to be brought to India; UK Home Minister clears his extradition

New Delhi: In what could be a major diplomatic victory for India, absconding business tycoon Nirav Modi is likely to be extradited here.

According to CBI sources, United Kingdom Home Minister has cleared he extradition of Nirav Modi to India.

“United Kingdom’s Home Minister has approved the extradition of Nirav Modi,” ANI reported quoting CBI official.

On February 25, a UK court had ruled in favour of extradition of Modi. Mumbai’s Arthur Road jail has kept a special cell ready to lodge him. The jail official said that once Nirav Modi is brought to Mumbai, he will be kept in one of the three cells of barrack number 12, which is a high security barrack.

The fugitive businessman has been in UK prison since his arrest on March 19, 2019, on an extradition warrant executed by Scotland Yard and his attempts at seeking bail have been repeatedly turned down.

Charges against Nirav Modi

Nirav Modi is wanted in India for fraud and money laundering to the tune of Rs 14,000 crore PNB scam.

Nirav Modi was arrested on an extradition warrant on March 19, 2019, and has appeared via video link from prison for a series of court hearings in the extradition case. His multiple attempts at seeking bail were repeatedly turned down, both at the Magistrates’ and High Court level, as he was deemed a flight risk.

He is the subject of two sets of criminal proceedings, with the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) case relating to a large-scale fraud upon PNB through the fraudulent obtaining of Letters of Undertaking (LoUs) or loan agreements, and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) case regarding the laundering of the fraud’s proceeds.

Additionally, he faces two additional charges of “causing the disappearance of evidence” and intimidating witnesses or “criminal intimidation to cause death, which were added on to the CBI case.