PNB scam case: Nirav Modi can be extradited to India, says UK court

 

Nirav Modi, once touted as a billionaire designer diamantaire, and now wanted on charges of fraud and money laundering in the $2-billion (Rs 14,000-crore) Punjab National Bank scam case, was on Thursday ordered by a London court to be extradited to India, with the judge ruling that the 49-year-old did have a case to answer before Indian courts.

The verdict will, as is the procedure in Britain, be referred to the country’s home secretary, Priti Patel, to authorise deportation at her discretion. But Nirav Modi is permitted to appeal against the ruling to the high court.

After nearly two years of proceedings since he was arrested at the British capital’s well-known shopping precinct of Oxford Street, a district judge at the Westminster Magistrates’ Court, Samuel Goozee, ruled: “I am satisfied that there is evidence upon which Mr Modi could be convicted… A prima facie case is established…He has a case to answer for in India.”

The Prime Minister’s Office has acknowledged it was tipped off about Nirav Modi’s uncle Mehul Choksi (the two had business dealings) as early as July 2016. PNB complained to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) about dubious letters of undertaking (LoUs) in February 2017. Yet no action was taken. Choksi fled to the Caribbean island of Antigua, with which India does not have an extradition arrangement. Read More