UK High Court rejects Nirav Modi plea |
The UK High Court has rejected a plea by fugitive Indian businessman Nirav Modi against his extradition to India to face charges of defrauding India`s Punjab National Bank. In a major blow to the fugitive diamond billionaire, the court refused to consider Modi`s written application to overturn a lower court order, meaning that Modi`s lawyers will now have to make oral submissions to the court. London`s Westminster Magistrate`s Court in February ruled that there were sufficient grounds for Modi to be sent back to India to face charges brought out by the Enforcement Directorate and the Central Bureau of Investigation. UK Home Secretary Priti Patel also signed off on his extradition on April 15th. Modi is currently held at Wandsworth prison in South London where he has been lodged since his arrest there in March 2019 in connection with the largest bank fraud perpetrated in India. Modi, along with his uncle Mehul Choksi, are accused of colluding with officials at Punjab National Bank for the issuance of fraudulent lines of credit. Modi is also accused of subsequently intimidating witnesses and tampering with evidence. The UK High Court`s decision comes after the Enforcement Directorate revealed that it had seized assets worth thousands of crores belonging to Nirav Modi and Choksi in India. Meanwhile, India`s Enforcement Directorate has transferred attached assets worth $1.1 billion to Public Sector Banks who had suffered losses due to the bank fraud by Vijay Mallya, Nirav Modi, and Mehul Choksi. According to the ED, Mallya, Modi and Choksi had defrauded Public Sector Banks by siphoning off the funds through their companies which resulted in total loss of $3 billion to the banks.
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