In a blow to stave off extradition to India, a UK extradition judge has ruled that fugitive diamantaire Nirav Modi has a case to answer for in India.
UK Extradition judge rules that fugitive diamantaire Nirav Modi (in file photo) has a case to answer for in India pic.twitter.com/31fpnc6uHZ
— ANI (@ANI) February 25, 2021
Nirav Modi has been fighting a nearly two-year-long legal battle to stop his extradition to India, where he is accused of fraud and money laundering amounting to nearly ₹ 14,000-crore.
Nirav Modi, appeared via video conferencing from Wandsworth Prison in south-west London at Westminster Magistrates’ Court, where District Judge Samuel Goozee delivered his judgment. Now the magistrates’ court ruling will be forwarded to the UK Home Secretary Priti Patel for a sign-off.
District Judge Samuel Goozee said, “I am satisfied that Nirav Modi’s extradition to India is in compliance per human rights, and there is no evidence that if extradited Nirav Modi will not get justice”.
However, Nirav Modi will still have the possibility of appeals in the High Court on either side depending on the outcome.
Nirav Modi and his uncle Mehul Choksi, who is also a fugitive on the run, are accused of routing transactions of about ₹ 13,600 crore through fraudulent Letters of Undertaking (LoUs) of Punjab National Bank (PNB).
Both men left India in January 2018, weeks before the scam was revealed. According to the Enforcement Directorate (ED), Nirav Modi diverted over ₹ 4,000 crore of the ₹ 6,519 crore outstanding fraudulent LoUs issued by PNB to his firms, through 15 “dummy companies” based in the UAE and Hong Kong.
Also, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has found that PNB officials had issued fraudulent LoUs to Nirav Modi’s firms since 2008.
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