Nirav Modi arrested in UK, to be produced in court

Fugitive jeweler Nirav Modi was arrested Wednesday by authorities in the United Kingdom, days after the Westminster Magistrate Court in London issued a warrant against him. He is likely to be produced before the court later in the day. The warrant against him had marked the beginning of extradition proceeding against him, an Enforcement Directorate official had said.

Nirav Modi, one of the accused in the Punjab National Bank fraud case, was recently tracked by UK’s Telegraph newspaper in London where he was reportedly living in a high-end flat. Nirav, according to the paper, was also running a diamond business in the English capital city.

After a video emerged showing Nirav Modi walking on the streets of London, the External Affairs Ministry had said that the government was taking steps to extradite Modi from the UK, which they were already considering.

Modi is accused of siphoning Rs 13,500 crore from the Punjab National Bank through fraudulent letters of undertaking and letters of credit in connivance with his uncle Mehul Choksi and bank officials at PNB’s Brady House branch in Mumbai.

UK Home Secretary Sajid Javid had certified India’s extradition request for Modi, triggering the legal process. Nirav Modi is believed to have arrived in London last year and was able to travel in and out of Britain at least four times since his passport was cancelled by the Indian authorities in February 2018.

Last year, the Scotland Yard arrested absconding liquor baron Vijay Mallya after India sought his extradition for defaulting bank loans. However, he was immediately released on bail. A UK court had recently ruled against Mallya, clearing the decks for his extradition. Mallya’s case is currently pending before the UK’s Home office. He is yet to file an appeal.